


Exactly the Right Mistake

by ineedthislikeaholeinthehead



Category: American Actor RPF, British Actor RPF, The Hobbit RPF
Genre: Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, First Time, Frottage, M/M, Non Profit Development is Hell and don't let anyone tell you otherwise, Oral Sex, Semi-Public Sex, Take Your Fandom to Work Day, handjob, versatile
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-13
Updated: 2016-05-13
Packaged: 2018-06-08 03:50:10
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 21,121
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6837958
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ineedthislikeaholeinthehead/pseuds/ineedthislikeaholeinthehead
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Non Profit Development Officer Lee Pace's life is turned upside down when he meets kind, sweet (loaded) major donor Richard Armitage.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [julliel](https://archiveofourown.org/users/julliel/gifts).



> I wanted to participate in [Take your Fandom to Work Day](http://takeyourfandomtoworkday.tumblr.com/post/141684975977/take-your-fandom-to-work-day): Think about what you do for a living, pick any fandom - put them together and go forth and write!  So, that's what I did.
> 
> (Aidan's behavior is based on Julliel- so that's why you're gifted on it, lovely!)

Lee sighed. He looked up at the clock and had to sigh again (to keep himself from crying.) Who the hell made 10 am so far away from 5 pm? 

He looked back at his computer. The same project he’d been working on for the past three weeks was staring right back at him, and it had no end in sight. 

When you think Nonprofit Organizations- if you think of Nonprofit Organizations- you think of two things (depending on the kind of person you are.) You think wide eyed optimists trying to help save the world, or you think greedy fake shysters cheating people out of their money under the guise of humanitarianism. 

When Lee started this gig, he was definitely in the first category. Idealistic, hopeful, and just a tad too naive. No one would take such low paying jobs without being a little naive. 

The wages weren’t the only thing about the job that sucked, but they were the worst. 

Not that there weren’t perks. Fundraising and Events gave you opportunities to meet lots of really interesting people, and everyone you met looked at you with a little admiration, what an altruistic person you must be to forgo decent salaries for a cause. 

Lee wasn’t too altruistic to use his job to get laid. 

Of course, he wasn’t exactly part of Fundraising and Events, so at the parties he was usually the one stuck at the reception table. No one really knew who he was, and even people inside his organization had no idea what the fuck he did. Even his boss only knew it was “very important.” Not important enough to drive a brand new sports car every year, like her. Not even important enough to earn him a salary that would allow him the ability to move out on his own. 

But his roommate, Dean, was pretty cool. And there were perks to his boss not knowing what the hell he did. Plus, it all looked great on his resume. Which would be useful, if he ever bothered to look for another job. 

He’d been here too long. He knew it the second they’d offered him an assistant. Everyone left this place. It was easy to fall into it, but the smart ones always realized what a mistake they were making, spent a year learning and getting skills on their CVs, and get out. No harm, no foul. Exactly the right mistake.

It wasn’t that it was so bad, comparatively. The whole industry was terrible unless you were the boss. No matter how near and dear you are to the cause, you had to leave eventually. Lee’s assistant hadn’t even waited to get her first paycheck before getting the hell out of dodge. He hadn’t even gotten a chance to show what a terrible boss he’d be (Lee didn’t even know if he’d be a bad boss, he just assumed, since all of his bosses were so terrible.) 

The second girl had been ok. He couldn’t even remember her name at this point. This new guy seemed ok. Arthur? Andrew? 

Aidan. Yeah. He was ok. The friendly type. Peppy. Like someone hadn’t told him the deal. Still an idealist. He had no idea what kind of mistake he’d made.

Lee had tried making friends before. But work friends are so different from actual friends. 

Offices are so weird. There might as well be a sign at the front door “Leave your happiness here.” 

Once you’d walked in, paid enough penance to earn yourself a coffee break, and walked into the lunchroom, you found the weirdest things to bond over. When you’ve got a company in war, they bond because they’ve all been through the same trauma. Same thing happens with siblings. Apparently, the same thing happens in a bad office, too. And almost every office is bad. They’re especially bad when terrible wages, clueless bosses and bad morale collide, though. 

So, you make friends, sure. You’ve got to get through the day, and that’s pretty hard to do without some sort of human contact. Work friendships are rarely based on similar interests. They’re just based on similar traumas. Becky in HR is on my ass again. Alice in PR is down my throat. I’m pretty sure that everyone in events is pissed at me because I accidentally told the truth about their fundraising instead of the fake numbers they wanted to put up for the board. 

And it all sounds simple and painless, but after days of it, months of it, years of it, it all turns your brain to mush and the only thing that saves you is the people around you who see it happening, go through it with you, understand why it’s so hard to leave even though things are so terrible.

But office friendships are fleeting. Because you forget once you leave. Things get better, or if not that then they get different, at least. And you might try to keep in touch, sure, but it becomes apparent really quick, work friendships only last as long as you’re both being traumatized by the same bosses. Otherwise, you’ve got to show who you really are, let each other in, share the weird things you’re into. 

Lee didn’t bother trying to be friends with anyone anymore. 

“Hey.” Lee looked up. His hands had been typing, but he’d zoned out, and all of a sudden, it was 12, and there was a bouncy, happy face leaning on the door to his office. 

“What can I do for you, Aidan?” 

“It’s lunch time.” 

“I’m not hungry.” 

“You never eat lunch.” 

“Didn’t realize you’d been keeping track.” 

“You said you’d go out today.” 

“Go out with Anna. I think she likes you.” Aidan looked back, Anna wasn’t at her desk. 

“She’s not really my type.” He admitted. And a shiver went through Lee’s back. He hadn’t realized it before. Was Aidan trying to hit on him? 

“Don’t know what you’re missing.” He said, insinuating something that he hadn’t experienced. Anna and Lee were just friends. Work friends. 

“Sure. Let’s talk about it over lunch.” Lee sighed, stood up, grabbed his keys. “Let’s walk.” 

The only thing nearby was a barbecue joint. Lee followed Aidan as they walked through the bushes and into the mini mall parking lot next door. 

They were seated quickly, and Aidan seemed perfectly happy to have a bubbly conversation with the hostess, then look around at the distracting decor. 

Lee looked over the menu. Lee looked over the drink menu. 

“How many mojitos do you think I could drink before anyone noticed I was drunk?” 

“Six.” Aidan said. Lee laughed. 

“You giving me too much credit.” 

“I guess we should only order four then… just to be safe.” Lee smiled. 

It was a slow day. Lee couldn’t imagine why it would ever be a fast day. Sure, the town they worked in was loaded with people who were loaded. But they were all lawyers and doctors and people who drove through hours of rush hour traffic downtown to make big juicy salaries. They weren’t here at lunchtime, and their wives didn’t eat anything, least of all lunch. 

At least it meant service was good. Their waitress was pretty and sweet and neither Aidan or Lee batted an eyelash at her as they gave their orders.

“Oh.” Aidan said as he handed her his menu. “And two mojitos, please.” She wrote it down. 

“ID?” She said. Aidan beamed. Lee took another look at him. He was covered in hair. Guy probably hadn’t been carded since he was 12. He handed her his driver’s license and she did a real good job of looking like she was looking at it before she handed it back. 

“You, too.” She said. For a second, Lee didn’t realize she was talking to him. Aidan had to give him a look for it to sink in. Lee pulled out his license and handed it to her. She wasn’t as good as pretending to check his age, quickly handing it back and promising that she’d be back soon.

Wonder if they’d card Ed Asner here. He thought. Lee was impressed with Aidan, and trying not to show it. He joked with everyone else in the office about drinking on the job. He’d occasionally slip a couple shots or a glass of wine at office parties and mandatory staff events. But actually doing it? Frankly, it was a door he wasn’t sure was wise to open. He was a little worried that once it started, the floodgates would open and he’d be using it as a way to survive every afternoon. 

But if Aidan was doing it too. If he was the one who’d started it. Well, what’s a drink between coworkers? Harmless fun. 

And it was. Aidan wanted to know about his new job. There was an event happening soon and he wanted to know what it was going to be like. Lee didn’t really have answers for him. 

After they’d finished their first mojitos, they’d wanted to know about about each other in general. 

After their second, they’d wanted to talk about their first boyfriends. Amazing how easy it was to open up once you’ve been lubricated correctly. 

They weren’t drunk, though Lee was happy they hadn’t driven over. They were just buzzed enough to get through the rest of the day. It was the first time in a long time Lee had enjoyed lunch with a co-worker. It was definitely the first time he’d enjoyed any afternoon before 5 o’clock. 

****************************

“Spaz.” Lee shook out of his stupor and looked at Dean, who was still holding his Xbox controller while throwing a couch pillow at him. Lee caught it and threw it on the floor. 

“What?” 

“I said: what time do you need me there tomorrow?” 

Wine Tasting in the Mountains. The first time Lee had gone to one of these things,he’d been excited. He wasn’t exactly the type to hobnob with the elite while staring out at gorgeous vistas and, on a good day, the ocean. And he didn’t. Because there weren’t any real elites at the mixer. And the people that were there knew that he worked for the organization, but treated him like a waiter. 

Now, it was time for the seven millionth Wine Tasting in the Mountains. This one wouldn’t be as unbearable. Dean had graciously volunteered to be an actual waiter, but he was mostly coming to either limit Lee to 3 glasses or (when that didn’t happen) drive him home. So it couldn’t be that bad. That’s what Lee kept on telling himself. 

****************************

“Where’s Aidan?” Lee’s boss, Dinah, asked. She was looking at her watch like she knew how to read an analog watch, which Lee very much doubted. 

“How the hell should I know?” 

Lee had long ago learned that he could get away with a lot of snippy behavior with Dinah. She wasn’t a bad person (she wasn’t a good person either) she was just overwhelmed and a little lazy. Since getting rid of Lee would mean not only replacing him, but learning what he did in order to replace him, she was willing to put up with a lot of his shit, and he definitely gave her a lot of shit.

Before she could come up with something pithy to respond (it wouldn’t have happened anyways) Aidan was running up the lane, still trying to pull his shirt on. 

“Sorry!” He said. His shirt was too tight, barely covering him. 

“What are you wearing?” 

“Didn’t think you would pull off a crop top so well.” Aidan wanted to laugh at Lee, but he felt compelled to answer Dinah instead.

“I asked Becky for a shirt. This is all she had.” She sighed. 

“Lee?” Lee always had extra everything. He might as well be in events how prepared he was. He hated that people knew it, though. He hated that Dinah relied on it. What the hell did she do when he wasn’t around? Realize all the stupid shit she made him do was useless and go on with life, probably. 

“Come on.” He said to Aidan. 

“No, I need him.” Dinah said, putting her hand on his chest as if to claim him as hers. Which Lee wouldn’t put it past her to try. 

“How am I supposed to know what he needs, Dinah?” Lee was so tired of her petty bullshit. Tired to the point that he was willing to be petty right back. They’d butted heads so many times that he didn’t even realize what they were fighting over anymore. 

“I’ll be really quick.” Aidan promised, if only to cut a little of the tension in the air. Dinah lets go of him. 

“Fine. Both of you be quick.” She said. Lee had turned his back before she’d even finished, and Aidan had to run to catch him. 

“She’s a real piece of work.” Aidan said, pulling on a shirt a size larger than before, still a little tight, but at least it covered his navel. 

“Some would say.” Lee was leaning on his car. 

It was just starting to get dusky. Everyone would be coming soon. He was dying for the guests to come. 

Not so much because he particularly liked any of them. The board and the big donors made a point of not getting the staff. Maybe it made them feel better about gutting their wages for other services. But once the guests all got there, the wine would be opened, and while it was usually not his favorite Chateau D’Shit, wine got you plastered regardless of vintage. 

Aidan was still nattering on. Lee felt a little bad for not paying more attention. He wasn’t a bad guy. Aidan seemed like he was a really nice guy. Not Lee’s type, which was a shame because the rules were very very clear about sleeping with your direct-reports, and Lee would love to break the rules. Regardless, he was a nice guy with a lot of excitement about the cause, a lot of hope that he could make a difference. Lee thought maybe he might have been like Aidan. But it’d been so many years, he didn’t remember who he used to be. 

“Guess you can get away with a lot when you’re talented, huh?” Aidan finally got Lee’s attention back.

“Who says she’s talented?” 

“Well, she’s head of development.” 

“And?” 

“We just got a million dollar grant last week. Pretty impressive.” 

“That grant was lined up 6 years ago. Before she was even here.” 

“Really?” 

“A word of advice? Don’t take anyone at face value here.” 

“Oooh, mysterious. No one is what they seem.” 

“It’s not as fun as you think it is.” Lee pushed off his car and started walking inside. Aidan rushed to catch up. 

****************************

“I told you last time, this is your last one.” Dean said, handing Lee his fourth wine spritzer. 

“It’s not my fault these are more soda water than firewater.” Lee complained. 

“It’s just my luck.” He said. “Speaking of which, how’s yours?” Lee had been assigned raffle duty. He was supposed to be enticing old donors and their guests to buy tickets for the “fabulous” prizes the events team had strong armed businesses into donating. He’d mostly been playing games on his phone. 

“Sadly, I don’t think we’ll be making our raffle goal.” Lee’s job had more to do with tracking purchases than it did with getting people to make them, and if they hadn’t bothered to get a salesman in the position, that was their own damn fault. 

Just another in a long line of examples of poor planning and stupid mistakes. Just because no one in their right mind would let him near the alcohol didn’t mean that they couldn’t have found a place for him that didn’t mean he had to interact with people. 

“I can tell you’re really torn up about it.” Dean said. And someone walked up, wanting a drink that Dean graciously gave her and went back out on the floor with his tray. 

Once he’s gone, Aidan rushed over. 

“Hey.” He said.

“Hey.” Lee replied. 

“Do you know that waiter you were just talking to?” 

“Yeah. That’s my roommate, Dean.” 

“Roommate? Or roommate.” Lee laughed. 

“The first one. He’s like a brother.” And by that, Lee meant annoying.

“That’s the kind of brother incest was made for.” 

“That is definitely in the top 10 most disgusting things I’ve heard today.” 

“Get to know me.” Aidan said. “Is he single?” 

“Chronically.” 

“Introduce me?” 

“Don’t think you’re his type.” Aidan shrugged. 

“I’ve been known to find wiggle room. Introduce me.” 

“You don’t need me, go talk to him yourself.”

“It doesn’t work with my play. I need you to grease the wheel a little.” 

“I’m sure you already have enough grease on your own.” 

“Please? I’ll buy drinks tomorrow night.” 

“Why would I see you tomorrow night?”

“Because I’m spending tonight at your place.” And Aidan’s self assuredness is what finally makes Lee get up. And maybe a little the prospect of Aidan getting dismissed by his very-definitely-100%-straight roommate. Because it was going to be funny. 

Lee got up and Aidan followed him towards the kitchen door. Lee leaned on the wall, and Aidan copied him. After a minute, he was fidgeting. 

“What are we doing, he’s right there?” Aidan asked, looking at the floor where Dean was handing out the last glass of wine on his tray. 

“Just wait.” Lee said. A minute later, Dean was walking towards them. 

“Hey.” He said to Lee. 

“Hey.” Neither one of them acknowledged Aidan. “Smoke break?” 

“Fuck, yes. I’ve been waiting.” Lee and Aidan followed Dean through the kitchen and out the back door. 

Dean leaned on the brick, Aidan stood in front of him, and Lee stood on the stairs beside them. 

Dean pulled out a joint, lit up and took the first hit before handing to Lee, who took a very light hit, then handed it to Aidan. Aidan took an impressive hit, which lost a lot of its cool points once he started a coughing fit. Dean laughed as he took the joint back. 

“Where’d you find this one?” He asked Lee as he passed the joint. 

“Craigslist.”

“You would.” Lee ignored Dean and took a hit before handing it to Aidan. 

“He’s pretty good.” He told Dean as he walked up the stairs and grabbed the door. 

“Where’re you going?” Aidan asked. 

“Back to work. See you losers later.” Lee said as he closed the door. 

****************************

Lee wasn’t exactly ecstatic to find someone standing at his table when he walked up. At least it wasn’t Dinah. 

“Can I help you?” He asked, pretty sure that he’d been able to mask the annoyance from his voice at least marginally. He didn’t recognize the man standing there, he wasn’t one of the regulars. Newbie. Joy. 

Lee had grown more detached to new donors as time had gone by. They cycled through depending on their connection, and they weren’t going to give a damn about him anyways, so why bother getting attached? Who cared? 

He turned his head up, and all of a sudden, Lee cared. 

Standing before him, in a bespoke suit that screamed money, with clear blue eyes and a perfectly trimmed beard, was the most beautiful man he’d ever seen. 

“I was just scanning through your prizes.” He said, in a deep English accent. Oh god. Accents were Lee’s weakness. And at that moment, he was beginning to feel very weak indeed. 

“What are you looking for?” Lee asked, silently congratulating himself for remembering how to access words. 

“Just browsing, really.” 

“Well, if you need any assistance, I’d be happy to guide you through the vast array of goodies.” The man chuckled. It was the most adorable sound in the history of existence. Lee licked his lips, then caught himself licking his lips, and stopped, praying he hadn’t been seen. 

“What a kind and generous offer.” 

“That’s me.” 

“Oh?” 

“I positively live to serve.” Serve you breakfast in bed. Lee thought. Hoped he thought. But since the man stayed, continued to peruse the pathetic offerings, he figured he’d probably managed to keep his thoughts to himself. 

“Can you tell me about this?” He asked, pointing his hand- which was definitely what God had used as a model for all hands everywhere- at something. Lee had to look down to see it. Which was terrible because he was trying to soak in as much as possible before this perfect creature figured out it was lost and wandered out of Wine Tasting in the Mountains. 

“Uh. It’s theater tickets. And dinner gift cards.” 

“Date night?” 

“For someone, I guess.” 

“Not your idea of a date?” 

“Not really my speed, no.” 

“What’s your ideal date?” He asked. 

“You really want to know?” 

“I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t.” 

“A handsome stranger tells me his name and takes me as far away from Wine Tasting in the Mountains as humanly possible.” Lee is pretty sure he’s just ruined his life. There isn’t anything explicit about not hitting on donors in the handbook, but he’s pretty sure it’s still a fireable offense. 

But then this man looks at him, and he’s blushing a little but still smiling, and Lee doesn’t give a flying fuck what happens to his job as long as this mystery man doesn’t stop smiling. 

“My name’s Richard.” He said, extending his hand. Lee took it. He’d thought looking at him was arousing, but touching him- just his hand- was so much more. It was exquisite, sublime, otherworldly. 

“Lee.” He finally spat out. Their hands unclasp. Biggest tragedy of the century.

“Would it be too forward of me-”

“No.” 

“You don’t even know what I’m going to say.” 

“I don’t care.” Richard chuckled again. It’s not everyday a gorgeous guy like Lee looked at him like that. He was going to grab this fleeting moment before it disappeared. 

“Would you excuse me for a few minutes?” 

“Whatever you’d like.” 

“Great.” He pulls out a credit card. “Why don’t you go ahead and put me down for five.” 

“On which one?” 

“All of them.” He says before walking away. Lee fills out the form and runs Richard’s credit card, tossing the tickets into their respective bowls and pocketing the other sides. He does this in record time, if only because he’d never bothered to hustle before. 

He saw Richard walking towards Dinah, which was a godsend because she’d been eyeing him ever since he’d gotten back. Did he know that Lee needed Dinah to be distracted? He wasn’t sure, but he’s certainly grateful for the fake cheek kisses and the forced friendly banter that allowed him to sneak through the kitchen and outside. 

“Dean? I just want to warn you that I don’t need that ride home, so don’t go looking for me-” Lee opened the door and Dean and Aidan are sitting on the stairs, lips locked, Aidan’s hand halfway down Dean’s pants. Lee gave a thumbs up- he’s not exactly sure who it’s for- and walked back inside. 

When he got in, Richard was right there, pretending to be interested in something stupid he definitely doesn’t need. When Lee walked up to the table, Richard smiled, a smile that shot right down his spine and straight to his groin. 

“I thought you’d run off with my card.” He joked. Lee handed it to him. 

“Why would I want that when I have these?” He asked as he pulled out all the raffle tickets. 

“You’re right.” Richard swept his hand over the table. “Look at all you could be winning.” 

“I could get that dinner and a movie deal.” 

“You’d have to use it ironically.” 

“Maybe I’d just donate it to charity.” Richard laughed again. Lee wasn’t that funny, so he was pretty sure this was a good sign. 

“And the winner could do the same.” Richard suggested.

“An unending cycle of donations.”

“Just like the family fruitcake.” 

“Just like that.” Now it was Richard who was licking his lips. Lee was dying to taste them. “You wanna get out of here?” Lee heard himself say. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d felt so excited, or nervous. 

“Desperately.” 

“Where are you parked?” Lee asked. 

“I came in a hired car. But if you give me a few minutes I can get them back early.” 

“We can just take mine.” 

“I don’t want to put you out.” 

“Put me out? I’d be more put out if I’d have to come get it tomorrow.” 

“Well then, lead the way, I suppose.” 

Lee walks away from the raffle table without a second thought. Richard follows him out. 

It’s dark now, and as they walk down the path towards the parking lot, it gets narrow and instead of walking one by one, they just move closer. They’re both big men and this is an incredibly stupid choice, but it doesn’t matter, because it’s an excuse to touch, and they’d both done stupider things to satisfy that desire. 

They get down to the landing, and Lee makes a quick turn towards Richard. 

“There’s no laughing allowed.” He said. 

“Laughing?” 

“At my car. Remember, I’m on a non-profit salary.” 

“You mean you’re not an investment banker?” Richard said sarcastically. 

“So sorry to disappoint.” He said. Richard pulled him in, kissed him. Moonlight in a parking lot. Not the least romantic first kiss in history. Even if it were, it was steamy, electrifying, a definite fire hazard, so Lee wouldn’t give a fuck. 

“I promise, you do not disappoint.” He said. 

Lee swallowed, wondered if he would ever catch his breath again, and took Richard to his crappy, crap filled car. 

“You drive?” He asked.

“Of course.” 

“In the states?” 

“I know how to drive, Lee.” Lee tossed him the keys.

“Great.” He opened the passenger side door. “Cus I probably shouldn’t.” Richard stood and watched as Lee slid into the seat and attempted to get his comically long legs into the hilariously small car. He would never let a complete stranger drive his car(s.) But as it didn’t seem to be an issue for Lee, he squeezed his own long legs inside and started it up. 

As Richard maneuvered through the parking lot, Lee pulled up the aux cord and tried to figure out music. There was no way he was going to get enough service to open up Pandora, so he shuffled through the trash filled cup holders until he found his ipod. He plugged it in and prayed the radio would work.

It was like every other part of the car- in dubious working order. He desperately needed to replace it. Which would be a nice treat, if he didn’t have another year and a half to pay on the stupid bucket of bolts to get the pink slip. 

In a tiny morsel of kindness, the radio seemed to be working today, meaning Richard was met with the Arctic Monkeys blaring in his ears as they started down the beachside of the mountains.

Lee turned down the music and shot Richard a sheepish grin. 

“Sorry, no satellite.” 

“I doubt it would come in up here anyways.” Richard said. Lee shrugged, attempted to find something more entertaining on his not-updated-enough ipod and gave up, tossing the thing carelessly back into the mess he’d sworn time and time again that he was going to clean. They listened to the random playlist Lee had on while swerving through the tiny mountain roads until they emerged at the beach. 

“Where we going?” Lee asked, not really caring because his hand was on Richard’s leg and he wasn’t making a protest over the way it crept up every time they made a stop. 

“Santa Monica.” He said. “If that works for you.” 

“It all works for me.” He said, and they take the PCH down from Malibu. Lee can’t see the ocean- it’s all just black now, and most of it’s covered in obnoxious seaside condos. The only homes with character are bound to be eviscerated eventually, turned into more and more condos worth more than he could make in ten lifetimes. 

Lee’s own place was on the other side of the mountain. It would only take him 15 minutes to get out here, he could be watching gorgeous waves, looking out at the vastness of the ocean, watching happier people walking in the sand, any time he wanted. A pretty big difference from the half a day trip to see the Gulf of Mexico from Texas. But he never bothers. Perhaps because he doesn’t like to watch happier people walking on the waves, perhaps because he doesn’t feel like trying to find parking amongst the other thousands of people thinking the same, but mostly because the ocean scares him. 

Not the fact that there are sharks or octopi or millions of little unknown predators lurking in it. Not the storms that could engulf you without a second thought. Not even the threat of drowning, really. It’s the sheer mass of the ocean, the fact that it was so big. Lee wasn’t used to feeling small- the phrase gentle giant had been thrown around tied to him so many times he couldn’t count (though never by someone who knew him- really knew him.) But when he sat on the shore, and endless wave after wave crash onto the land, it was so obvious how very small he was. Lee wanted to get big things done. He wanted to change the world- why else would he have gotten into non-profit work in the first place?- and when he watched the ocean, it always felt like he was being reminded about how tiny and inconsequential his work was. 

They parked underground and took the elevator up to the top floor of an obnoxious seaside condo. Richard opened the door, and Lee was sure everything in the place had been meticulously chosen and placed by one of LA’s hottest interior designers, but he didn’t give a damn what things looked like, other than Richard, who looked like he was in desperate need of a kiss. 

Before he had time to flick on the lights, Lee had wrapped his arms around Richard, and pulled him in for a kiss that could have melted concrete. 

“Where’s the bedroom?” Lee asked. 

“Either way.” Richard replied, and Lee noticed the twin hallways branching off the livingroom. He took Richard’s hands and smiled demurely. 

“Show me.” He said, and Richard guided him towards the left and into a suite that would have made a king drool. Lee didn’t have any time to bother with marveling at things he wasn’t going to remember, so he pounced as soon as Richard was close to the bed, finally getting the full make out scene he’d been craving since their first touch in the parking lot. 

Lee could have spent hours simply kissing Richard, whose lips were softer than rose petals, whose mouth was precisely what you think of when you think of cavernous- but only in the best way possible, whose tongue was strong and made promises Lee silently begged him to keep. 

They didn’t spend hours kissing, though. It was too easy to escalate, every time Lee tried something, Richard acquiesced, it was only a matter of time before Lee had gotten Richard out of his shoes, his pants, his shirt completely unbuttoned. 

Lee slunk off the bed, enjoying the way Richard’s leg hair felt against his palms as he grabbed his thighs. (Like everything else, Richard’s thighs were delectable. Lee was sure, given the chance, he could worship those thighs until day break. Seeing as he had no idea what daybreak was going to bring, his interests lay elsewhere.) His fingers dipped under the waistband on his underwear, and he felt Richard shudder. 

“Everything OK?” He asked. 

“Ah.. yes. Sorry.” 

“You don’t have to be sorry.” Lee looked up, and instantly recognized the worried look on Richard’s face. He fell back on his feet, and then sat down on the floor. “This is your first time.” 

“Hardly.” 

“With a man.” 

“Maybe.” 

“You could have told me in the car.” 

“I was a little worried you wouldn’t come up.” Lee laughed. “If the cock rocket in the garage didn’t deter me, I don’t think anything would have.” 

“It’s a really good car.” Richard said, in defense of his stupidly expensive Maserati.

“Two seater, terrible gas mileage, with a monthly payment that looks like a home mortgage.” 

“Well, when you put it like that. But I bet you’ve never driven one.” 

“And?” 

“Maybe we’ll go out for a drive.” 

“You do know you’re past the point of having to butter me up, right?” 

“Just looking for a second date.” 

“Don’t you think you should finish the first date before deciding if you want a second one?” 

“If we square the second one away, and I botch this up, you might take pity on me and still give me that second chance.” 

Lee got back on his knees, and pressed his lips against Richard’s (magnificent) belly button. 

“I think you’ll find it’s very hard to botch this part up.” He said, before pulling Richard’s underwear down and wrapping his lips around Richard’s cock. 

He let out a shocked moan, something Lee quite enjoyed hearing. Eventually, Richard’s fingers found their way into his hair, which just inspired Lee to work harder. It had never been a big deal before, but Lee loved the way Richard’s hands felt in his hair, his fingers alternating from caressing to grabbing at his scalp drove him crazy, and he rewarded Richard in turn, easily drawing out his orgasm with his tongue and lips. 

When Lee withdrew, he was absolutely certain that he’d just given the best blow job that either one of them had ever had. And it had turned him on. 

True, he’d been turned on just by being in the same room as Richard, but the feeling of him at the back of his throat, the way he could still taste Richard on his lips, had done something too Lee that hadn’t happened in years. It had made him feel. And it was oh so nice. 

Lee stood up, watching Richard wipe his brow before he looked up at him, then down to the pants he was nearly bursting out of. He sat up and moved for the button on Lee’s trousers. 

“You don’t have to do anything.” 

“What are you talking about?” 

“First time with a guy and all… I could understand if you needed some time to take that in.” 

Richard pulled Lee to the bed, smacked him with an intense kiss, and slid down his stomach. 

“I promise you, I am absolutely ready to take in more.” He said, then pulled off Lee’s pants and underwear like a seasoned pro.

He’s not exactly an actual seasoned pro, but what he lacks in technique he more than makes up for in eagerness, wrapping his lips around the tip and his hand around the shaft, jerking in a motion Lee was almost sure must be Richard’s personal favorite. 

Lee didn’t give a damn what he was doing, just that it was Richard who was doing it. Between the wine and the drive and the fact that this man was such a gorgeous little virgin, Lee knew he wasn’t going to last long, and he grabbed Richard by the shoulders to warn him, but before he had a chance to say anything, Richard’s hand disappeared and he drew Lee deeper into his mouth, his tongue lapping at the underside of his cock until he’d given him the very last drop. 

If Lee hadn’t been tipsy on wine and drunk on pleasure, he probably would have had to stifle a laugh over how quickly Richard shot up and ran to the restroom. But he didn’t have it in him to think anything Richard did was silly (even if it was) and he wasn’t going to get offended over a first timer not swallowing. He climbed all the way up Richard’s bed but didn’t take off his clothes like he wanted to- there was every chance that he was about to be asked to leave. 

Richard came out of the bathroom completely nude. Lee sat up and looked at him. God, he was pretty. Richard was watching him from across the room, thinking the same thing. 

“Do you want me to go?” Lee asked as Richard crawled into bed. He looked at Lee, confused. 

“Of course not.” He said. That was all Lee needed. He pulled off what little clothing he still had on and happily settled in to Richard’s bed, which was definitely made of whatever angels slept on.


	2. Chapter 2

“Ah!” Dean yelled as Lee walked through the door. It was afternoon. Lee and Richard had slept late into the day.

“What?” 

“Didn’t realize you still lived here.” He joked. Lee dropped his bag on the floor where he always did, and sat in his favorite chair. 

“It was only one night.” He reminded Dean. “And I bet you had someone to distract you from missing me.” 

As if he had been summoned, Aidan walked out of the bedroom and walked over to sit down on the couch. On Dean, actually. 

“The tomcat returns.” He said, a little too cheerily for, Lee looked at the clock and saw that it was 4, which meant Aidan had every right to be cheery. 

“Pretty sure that title belongs to you.” 

“Why do you say that?” 

“Because you’re still here.” 

“Well, I wasn’t going to go home just to have to come back.” 

“Why would you be coming back?” 

“I told you, drinks are on me.” He got up, and smacked Dean playfully. Lee watched in astonishment as Dean smiled at Aidan. “You were supposed to tell me when he got in.” 

“He just got in.” 

“Alright, let’s go then.” Lee groaned. Richard had taken him out for brunch. He was in no mood to mix anything with the bottomless mimosa that he’d almost found the bottom of a few hours ago. 

“Does the great Lee Pace actually want to stop drinking?” Dean asked, pushing exactly the right button that made Lee a stubborn bastard. 

“Of course not.” He said. Aidan’s jacket was lying under Lee’s legs, he grabbed it and took out his keys. 

“Great.” Aidan said as he wrapped his hand around the doorknob. “You are definitely not driving, though.” He said, pointing at Lee, who took a breath, gave himself a silent pep-talk, promised his liver that he’d give it recuperation time (later...eventually) and stood up. Aidan was already out the door by the time Dean was up. 

Lee turned around, but before he could get a word out, Dean pushed him out the door. 

“Don’t want to hear it, Pace.” He said, and that was that. 

****************************

“Warning, Will Robinson!” Lee looked down at Aidan, happily doing something that was definitely not work on his computer. Normally, Lee encouraged this sort of behavior. Today he was just jealous that the Irish bastard had it in him to be perky at all. Lee’d felt so shitty after their Sunday night antics that he’d given in and taken Monday off. 

“It’s ‘Danger, Will Robinson.’” He corrected. 

“Both then.” Aidan said, then the door creaked and they both held their breath in fear that a senior manager would walk in. If one did, everyone would have to do the unthinkable: they’d have to start pretending to work. It was just Anna, who smiled at both of them and scurried to her desk. 

“What’re you talking about?” Lee asked. 

“Dinah was looking for you yesterday.” 

“I told her I wasn’t coming in.” 

“Coulda fooled me.” It wouldn’t have been the first time that Dinah hadn’t read her email or checked her voicemail all day. 

“Did she say what she wanted?” 

“You really think she’d tell the likes of me?” Lee concentrated as hard as the headache behind his eyes allowed. 

“What have I fucked up lately?” 

“You have to do something to fuck something up.” Aidan provided. “But, I think I have an idea what she want’s to talk to you about.” 

“What?” Aidan couldn’t simply tell him, there was no dramatic flair in that. He opened up their database, typed in Lee’s name, and pulled up a $10,000.00 donation. “Mother Fucker.” He said. 

“Well, I think the right term here might be Lee Pace fucker.” Aidan said as Lee walked away, straight into his office, opened up their database, and pulled up the ludicrous gift that Richard had made in his honor.

Lee looked at the clock. Work started at 9, but Dinah was never in the office before 11. It was hypocritical of Lee to judge, since the clock was brazenly displaying the time as 10:58. He closed the door to his office, turned of most of the lights, and hid behind his computer until Dinah walked straight in.

“Hey, Lee.” She said, flicking his lights back on. “Still feeling sick?” 

Lee gave her the pathetic cough he’d absolutely perfected. They must think he had the worst immune system in the world. Either that, or they knew exactly what was going on, and just didn’t care. 

“Getting better, though. I’ll be back to 100% in no time.” He lied. 

“Can I see you in my office?” Dinah asked. Lee had two perfectly good chairs sitting right in front of them. But Dinah didn’t want to sit in front of Lee. She wanted him to sit in front of her. 

“I’m just working on one more email. I’ll be...2 minutes?” 

“Great.” She said. When she left, she didn’t turn the lights back off, and she didn’t close the door. 

Lee slumped down in his seat. He started a game of minesweeper. What a weird game. Press a button and pray nothing explodes. Just like work. He’d never won. 

Ten minutes later, he got bored and looked out his door. He sighed and dragged himself over to Dinah’s office, leaning on the door frame. He could walk in, everyone else walked in. But he wanted to postpone the conversation and it’s inevitable questions about his personal life as long as humanly possible, so he waited for her to look up and invite him in. Which she eventually did after shuffling through a bunch of papers to prove how busy and important she was. 

She put on her “I’m going to talk to donors” smile- every time Lee saw it, he wondered why on earth she thought anyone would buy it. How many donations had they lost because their Vice President of Development had been so obviously fake? 

“I was looking forward to talking to you.” She said. The thing was, Lee never knew what that meant. Because sometimes she really did have something harmless “Can you find out this person’s last donation?” and then sometimes she had something that sounded harmless to her but would ruin his entire day. “Can you find out the last 4 donations to a campaign we haven’t had for 5 years? Do any of them have the name Mike? I think I want to talk to a person named Mike.” 

“Well, now you don’t have to.” Lee said as he sat down. He smiled as he said it, and he knew he was faking it the same way Dinah was. The things you pick up. He hated it. 

“I’m going to get straight to the point. I think you’ve struck up a… friendship...with Richard Armitage.” 

“I guess you could say that.” There was an awkward pause. Part of Lee was pretty sure Dinah was waiting for him to confess to sucking Richard’s dick. It was none of his business that she’d been sucking the board chair’s dick when his wife didn’t show up to last year’s gala, so it wasn’t her business who’d been in Lee’s mouth, either. 

When he didn’t offer any other information, she squinted at him. 

“You don’t know who Mr. Armitage is, do you?” 

“I know his name is Richard, and he’s a fan of charity raffles.” Dinah pulled out a binder. Lee recognized which kind immediately. Dinah was a mess, but one of her many attempts at being less of a mess was a color coordinated overhaul, and the binder she’d just pulled out was green. 

Because you couldn’t be too obvious about these things, green binders were where she kept info on potential major donors. People who could change the face of the organization because gifts like 100,000 dollars were nothing to them. 

Lee watched as she opened the binder and started taking out printouts. 

“Look at his Wealth Engine.” 

One of the creepiest things about development is the fact that, once you’re in a donation system, anyone’s financial business is very easy to find. Wealth Engine is like google, but instead of finding pictures of flying goats or directions to grandma’s house, it finds out what everyone’s got in the bank. If you’ve got a name, an address, and a WE account, you can find out how much money and real estate almost anyone has. It also tells you about how philanthropic someone is. There’s a scale for that, from a Five (you’re not getting a single dime from me) to a One (Please take my money before I start burning bills one by one!) 

The print out Dinah handed to Lee had Richard’s name, next to a monetary amount so obscene Lee almost choked, and a big, fat One. Lee tossed the paper back to her. 

“What’s your point?” He asked. 

“My point? Lee… you see the data… and you’re seeing Richard.” 

“That’s none of your business. And it doesn’t have anything to do with anything here.” 

“It has a lot to do with everything.” 

“I don’t know what you want from me, Dinah.” 

“Lee, do you want to change your life?” Lee looked at Dinah for a second. He was obvious, he knew, but after all the shit she’d put him through, Dinah was never going to get to hear him admit to how miserable he was.

“Why?” 

“I’m big enough to admit it. Your… talents…. haven’t been fully used here. I for one am sorry that we haven’t been able to let you grow professionally the way that you should.” 

“I’m listening.” 

“We haven’t had a big enough budget to create the position you should really be in- Director of…” She couldn’t remember what his title actually was, just that it currently had manager in it, and that Director would mean a nice big pay bump. “You should be a Director.” She ended on, looking up at him and waiting for him to salivate over the title. When he didn’t, she went in another direction. “I don’t think I’ve been giving you enough one on one attention, Lee.” 

“What makes you think I want that?” 

“Training, Lee. This connection with Richard is an excellent way to train you in Major Gift Acquisition.”

Lee’s stomach curled at the thought. It’s not that he had any problem taking rich people’s money. But this felt different, somehow cheap. 

“So I just charge him for every time I talk to him then?” He spat out. 

“Of course not. You’re not a prostitute, Lee.” It lingered in the air. He thought for a second that Dinah was the sort of person who might sell her daughter for the right price. “But...he did take you away from the wine tasting on Saturday and made a donation on Sunday. Maybe he’s having fun with you.” Lee stood up. 

“Maybe he is, Dinah. But whatever he’s doing isn’t up for discussion. If you want to put him on your major gift acquisition list, that’s up to you.” 

“Lee…” Dinah started. Lee leaned back on the door frame, but she didn’t have anything to follow up. She sighed. He exited, walking back to his dungeon and immediately opening up facebook. 

At the end of the day- well, at 3, which was the end of the day for Dinah, she walked past his office and stopped, leaning on the doorframe. He didn’t invite her in. 

“Lee?” She tried. Lee was staring very hard at a spreadsheet Aidan had sent him. He was ignoring Dinah, but he was also wondering if Aidan had put a secret code in the form of strategically placed mistakes in the spreadsheet. 

“Yeah.” He said without looking up.

“You don’t want to help yourself, and that’s fine. But think of all the people in our community that could be helped if you would open yourself up to this opportunity.” 

“That’s not gonna work on me, Dinah.” 

“Fine. We’re having a professional mixer next Friday.” 

“And?” 

“You’re coming.” 

“You never make me go to those things.” 

“Well, you’re going this time.” 

“To serve drinks and hand out napkins? Take Aidan.” 

“Please don’t take me.” Aidan said, Lee and Dinah both looked at him, and he ducked his head behind his cubicle wall.

“You’re going to talk to donors.” She said. 

“Not in my job description.” 

“Your job description? You talk to donors all the time. You’re going, you’re going to like it, and if you see Richard between then and now, you might think about mentioning it to him.” 

Dinah readjusted the bag on her shoulder, and stomped out the door before Lee had a chance to make anymore subordinate quips.

“Fucking Christ.” He said, and then he grabbed his jacket, and walked out. 

“Where’re you going?” Aidan asked. 

“Happy hour.” Lee said. 

****************************

“Lee.” Dean said, though he might as well have been talking to dead air. “Lee.” He grabbed the remote and turned off the TV. “Lee.” 

Lee finally turned his head. 

“What?” 

“Your mobile’s ringing.” 

“Yeah, I know.” 

“It’s been ringing all night.” 

“Thanks for the update.” 

“Aren’t you going to answer it?” 

“If it’s been ringing this long and I haven’t answered it, what do you think?” 

“Could you at least turn the sound off?” 

“No.” 

“Why not?” 

“Because I want to know when it rings.” 

“Who’s calling?” 

“Dinah.” 

“Why?” 

“She wants to know how my date with Richard went.” 

“...you’ve been home all night.” 

“And?” 

“Why does Dinah think you’ve got a date with Richard?” 

“Two reasons.” 

“...Which are?” 

“She’s a nosy little bitch.” 

“And?” 

“And...I have a date with Richard.” 

“You have a date? With Richard? Tonight?”

“Is that really so hard to believe?” 

“Well, it’s just a little confusing, since it’s 10, you’ve already eaten dinner and you’re wearing jeans.” Lee shrugged. 

“Why should I work for it?” He asked. He looked down at his phone, this time it wasn’t Dinah calling. “Hey.” He said while standing up and walking to the door. “Ok.” 

“What?” Dean asked as Lee hung up. 

“Richard’s outside.” He pulled on his jacket and opened the door. “Tell Aidan I say hi.” Dean rolled his eyes. 

“He wishes.” He said. 

“Whatever.” Lee said. As soon as he’d closed the door, Dean pushed the newest addition to his speed dial. 

“Hey.” He said when Aidan immediately answered. “I’ve got the apartment to myself for the night...If you’re interested.” He said, smiling at the answer.   
****************************  
When Lee got downstairs, he was greeted by Richard leaning on a new sports car. Lee couldn’t give a damn about the shiny Porsche neither one of them was going to be able to fit into comfortably. But his stomach dropped the second he saw Richard. 

He couldn’t place exactly what it was that got him so hot and bothered. Sure, Richard was attractive, and obviously had a stylist and a tailor who kept him perfectly dressed. But Lee had never noticed stuff like that- perhaps in passing, but it had never been a determining factor in the guys he’d dated. He couldn’t imagine he’d all of a sudden become so shallow that a nice pair of slacks (that he desperately wanted to tear off) and a car that was worth more than four years his salary would actually mean something. 

“Good evening.” Richard said. He gave Lee a crooked smile that Lee suspected he knew would turn his legs to jelly. 

“Hey.” 

“Care to drive?” He asked. “Providing you’re not drunk, of course.” 

“Sober as a saint.” Richard tossed him the keys- well, the FOB that would have been keys if this were 1991- and Lee opened the car. 

“Really?” 

“Well. Mostly.” Lee said as they slid in. 

It was surprisingly roomy, and the engine was amazing. Lee pulled out of the parking lot and zipped around the corner, dying to get the car onto open road, but having no idea where he could find that. 

“Where do you wanna go?” Lee asked. 

“I don’t care.’ Richard said. 

“You don’t care? What were you planning on doing?” He looked over, and even though it was dark, he knew that Richard was giving him that same devilish smile.

“I thought we’d have an adventure.” 

“On a Tuesday?” 

“Is it Tuesday?” Lee laughed. 

“Ruler of the world, and you can’t keep your days straight?” 

“I have some one for that.” Lee hit Topanga Canyon, one of the main thoroughfares of the Valley. Turn left and you’re through the mountains and down to the beach. Turn right, and you’ve got miles of malls and suburbia. Lee turned right. “Are we going to Red Robin?” Richard laughed, and Lee could tell the idea sounded insane to him. 

“You seem more like a TGI Friday’s guy to me.” He responded. Even at 10 o’clock at night, the traffic through the mall, and the next mall, and the next one was still pretty bad, but eventually they left Neiman Marcus in the dust, and the cars around them dissipated and they pushed deeper into suburbia. The houses started to get farther apart, until it almost looked like farm land. 

“Where are you taking me?” Richard asked. 

“It doesn’t look like LA any more, right?” 

“It looks like bloody Wisconsin.” 

“Spend a lot of time in Wisconsin?”

“You’re really not going to tell me where we’re going?” Lee thought for a second. He had no idea where they were going. 

“It’s an adventure.” He said. They were at the end of the line. Go straight and they’d be on the 118 and eventually back into civilization. Go left, and you’re driving through the mountains and into Simi Valley. He turned left. 

He let the engine rev, turned a corner at the last second, then another. Lee couldn’t decide what he was enjoying more- the speedometer registering higher and higher with every passing second, or the way Richard’s hand was grabbing his thigh as he held on for dear life. 

No, he was definitely liking Richard’s hand better. Enough to go back down to 70. Richard’s hand moved up his thigh and he lost another 5 miles. Richard moved closer, unbuckling Lee’s pants and sliding his hand onto his cock. Lee let out a sigh as Richard started stroking him. He sped up, but Richard didn’t seem to care any more. 

Lee looked over at him, god he wished they were kissing. But he wasn’t coordinated enough to let even one hand off the steering wheel to pull Richard in. He let out another moan, and Richard covered Lee’s mouth with his own- precisely what Lee wanted. He almost forgot he was driving, slid into the uninhabited other lane, and swerved back into his. 

This didn’t seem to dissuade Richard, whose head moved down Lee’s neck, his chest, and quickly into his lap. When Richard’s lips met the tip of Lee’s cock, he gave in, let one of his hands off the wheel, and put it in Richard’s hair.

There were too many factors happening at once for Lee to know why Richard had suddenly gone from nervous first timer to the best fucking blowjob he’d ever had. He didn’t care to deconstruct this, all Lee cared about was getting the stupid car parked so he could fuck his mouth properly. 

He pulled down a side street, parked the car, and concentrated on Richard’s mouth. He came embarrassingly fast, but road head was most definitely a special treat- he wasn’t going to chastise himself for being a little eagerl. When Richard sat back up, Lee was slumped against the headrest. He turned over, still breathing a little heavier than normal, to see Richard opening the door and spitting. Same as last time, Lee didn’t care. 

“So....” Richard said as he wiped his lips and sat back down in his seat. “Where the bloody hell are we?” 

“Corriganville, I think.” 

“You think?” 

“Well, I wasn’t paying much attention to where I was going.” Lee admitted. 

“Always something you want to hear about while driving through winding roads in a leased car.” Lee pulled him closer, their noses were touching, and he gave him a peck on the lips. 

“You’re the one responsible for distracting me.” He reminded Richard. 

“You’re the one who let me distract you.” Lee didn’t have any way to retort, so he kissed Richard again then got out of the car and started walking through the horribly lit parking lot. Richard got out and started following. 

“You’re not leaving are you?” Richard asked. Lee turned around, continued walking backwards. 

“Of course not. Let’s explore.” Richard caught up with him rather quickly- Lee wasn’t used to people having legs as long as his. 

“You want to explore in the middle of the night, in complete darkness?”

“Why not?” Lee asked. 

“Because… it’s dark.” Lee thought about this for a second, then pulled out his phone and searched through it until he’d turned on the flashlight app. 

“Turn on yours, too.” He told Richard. 

“What are you talking about? My phone doesn’t do that.” 

“What? Yes it does. Give it to me.” Richard handed him the phone, and Lee scrolled through. “You have like nothing on your phone. How do you have such a great phone and not put it to good use?” 

“What do you need besides email, calendar and contacts?”

“Well,” Lee started as he opened up Richard’s app store. “Tonight you need a flashlight.” He found what he wanted and started the download. Lucky bitch had full bars. For the first time in a long time, Lee was jealous of the upper class with their amazing cell phone signals. “Frankly, I can’t see how you’ve gone this long without it.” The app loaded, Lee turned it on, and handed the phone back to Richard.

“Perhaps I don’t go scampering through parks in the middle of the night enough to warrant using it.” 

“Oh, Richard, you have no idea what you’re missing.” 

“I have an idea that I’ll probably be missing it tonight. There’s no way we’re supposed to be here this late.” They’d come to a barrier- a knee high rope across the entrance. Lee walked over it without a second’s thought. 

“Sure we are. As long as we don’t get caught.” He said, and started walking. 

Richard pondered this action for a moment. There was something about Lee that seemed just a little bit crazy. He wondered if that was why he was so appealing. He took one more second to weigh the pros and cons of turning back and leaving Lee in the middle of nowhere, and ran into the park after him. 

Lee had stopped a few meters away, looking at some sort of weird foundation. 

“What’s that?” Richard asked. 

“You see that studio across the street?” Lee pointed and Richard could marginally make out the lines of movie studio he hadn’t been paying attention to earlier. “Corriganville used to be owned by...I can’t remember which studio, but one of them. They used to film all that cowboy shit here. Well, not just here. Malibu, Placerita, Calabasas, hell, Burbank used to have a ranch for filming.”

“How do you know this stuff, Lee?” 

“Oh...I have a degree in film history.” 

“And you work for a non profit, instead?” Lee shrugged. He didn’t have an excuse, he’d just sort of fallen into it. 

“Development is Development.” He said. “Anyways, Corriganville used to be where they filmed westerns. This must have been a set at one time.” They paused for a moment to look at the remains, wondering what it would have been like 70 or 80 years ago, the same spot bustling with the activity of a busy shoot. 

Lee started walking on, his light showing a...it wasn’t a mountain and it wasn’t a hill, but in the darkness of the night, it looked foreboding. Richard followed anyways. 

Then, halfway up the not-hill, Lee made a sharp turn left and after a few minutes of walking, they were looking at a huge rock. Lee climbed down, turned around and took Richard’s hand. Which he was sure he didn’t need, but appreciated all the same. Richard didn’t know what he was expecting but it wasn’t night hiking in cowboyland. He was surprised at how much he was enjoying himself. 

Lee intended on making sure Richard enjoyed himself a lot more, and pulled him down the side of the boulder a little faster than Richard was comfortable with. 

“You’re going to have to slow down, Lee. I’m not a mountain goat like you apparently are.” Lee stopped, looked at him with an apologetic smile that looked silly in the light of his cell phone, but beautiful none-the-less. 

Lee shined his phone light on a rock, then another a little lower, than another. 

“There, there and there.” He held out his hand again. “I’ll show you.” Richard took it, still thinking that this was the craziest thing he’d done since...well...he had just let Lee drive a sports car through the mountains while he blew him...so tonight was just shaping up to be a rather crazy night. 

It wasn’t until they reached the base of the boulder that Richard realized he wasn’t looking at one 10 ft rock, but a collection of them heaped together. Lee walked a few feet closer and revealed an opening. Not exactly a cave, more like a tent made of sediment. He waited for Richard to follow him, and climbed in. 

One side of the opening was high enough that even they could crawl in, and it sloped down to an end where they wouldn’t even be able to even sit. Lee proceeded to lie down and looking expectantly at Richard. 

“What?” Richard asked. “You don’t actually want me to get in the dirt with you?” 

“I promise it’ll be worth your while.” He said, a glint in his eye that made Richard believe him. He sat down in the dirt, slacks be damned, and laid down next to Lee. There was something about lying in this place with Lee that brought out a different side of him. It was as if the dirt or the rocks or the climbing had taken off that outer level of sadness that appeared to be shrouding the real Lee. 

Richard didn’t know how or why he had been able to see it in the first place- Lee could peel back that depression with alcohol, but every ounce of liquor pulled something darker over the light he was supposed to be bringing out. Richard didn’t understand it, but he did feel himself falling just a little bit in love with this crazy, passionate man who needed to lie in the dirt to be happy. 

Then he turned his head and he understood a little more. 

LA is a bright place- and not in the sense that there was so much intelligence there (because that wasn’t exactly the case)- it was literally filled with neon and spotlights and neighborhood after neighborhood with back to back street lamps. But cuddled up next to Lee, there was just enough room between the rocks to see the stars. 

They stayed there, staring up at the sky until Lee pulled Richard closer and kissed him. Richard was glad he was lying down, because he wouldn’t have been able to stay upright after a kiss like that. 

Lee felt it too and took the chance to move further, wrapping his arm around Richard and shifting until they were facing each other. Richard grabbed Lee by the back of the neck and put his lips on the sweet spot there, sucking until he heard Lee sigh.

Wanting to keep up, Lee upped the ante, opening Richard’s belt and trousers and sliding his hand around his cock and waiting for whatever delicious sound that would escape from Richard. He didn’t disappoint, and Lee began legitimately stroking him, readjusting so their heads were in alignment. 

Lee was sure he was falling too fast, but it was just another thing in a long line of things he didn’t care about. He could kiss Richard all night. He had work in the morning and he was still considering the idea of staying up all night with him. Fuck it. What the hell could possibly matter when he had his hand around Richard’s cock and Richard’s tongue in his mouth? How could life be any better when you had that? 

Lee thought of something that could be better, and quickly maneuvered down Richard’s body, marveling at the sculpted muscle that was barely hidden by the clothes Lee knew he’d ruined by dragging Richard here. He smiled as his face grazed across the soft fabric. His lips met his hand at the tip of Richard’s cock, he happily devoured it. 

Richard let out a cry he knew was too loud for their current location. He looked up through the hole in the rocks and into the vastness of the stars above and caught just a taste of Lee’s euphoric apathy. What the hell did anything matter when you felt this good? 

And Lee did know how to make him feel good. Better than he’d ever understood you could feel. How many women had he been with- fully with- and hadn’t given him the same feeling that Lee had accomplished with two measly blow jobs? 

He wasn’t used to this- that was a given- had definitely not expected it. It wasn’t just the bloke thing- everything about erratic, alcoholic apparent film buff Lee was scary- terrifying. You never meet the same person twice, so saying that he wasn’t like anyone he’d ever met wasn’t strong enough to describe Lee. 

Richard had spent his entire life walking a very fine line- being a very good, very successful man. There was a certain amount of repression involved in keeping up that life, a certain circle of people that you were required to associate with. Richard had never had an opportunity like Lee plopped in his life, and even though he had no idea what he was doing, lying on the cold ground of a cowboy movie set, he was wondering why it had taken him this long to get here, and how long he could make it last. 

Lee curled his tongue around the bottom of his cock and Richard wrapped his hands in Lee’s hair, pulled as he came, attempting (and failing) to stay quiet. Lee pulled off and swallowed with a smile before lying back down. Richard put his arm around Lee, and they stayed there, looking at the stars until they both felt themselves starting to drift off. 

As they were silently walking back to the car, Richard caught sight of something. Another flashlight- a real flashlight. He shined to his cell phone backwards to better see the outline of the man slowly walking towards them. He was pretty far away, and wearing an authoritative uniform and a tell tale wide brimmed hat of a park ranger. 

“Lee…” Richard said, grabbing him until he looked back. 

“Shit. Run.” Lee said, and started sprinting. Richard easily caught up. 

“Why?” He asked as they got to the car and Lee slid back into the driver’s seat. 

“I don’t want another ticket.” He said, starting the engine before Richard had fully buckled himself in. 

“Another ticket?” Richard asked as Lee sped out of the lot and back onto the road they’d come from. “How many guys have you brought here?” 

“That’s pretty assumptive.” Lee said. Richard hadn’t even thought of possibility that Lee might date women as well. He didn’t, but the fact that he had automatically assumed it…”But, if you must know...I haven’t brought anyone else here. There are just a lot of parks around here that don’t appreciate the benefits of late night nature hikes.” 

“And they show their disapproval in the form of tickets?” 

“Not everyone. Sometimes they just ban you.” Lee swerved a little too fast and Richard was sure they were done for, but he made it. “But that’s only if they catch you. We’re probably not gonna get caught since Phil wasn’t in his truck.” 

“Phil? You’re on a first name basis with park rangers?” 

“Who do you think gave me my last tickets?” Lee took another crazy curve, they were almost back onto Topanga Canyon. 

“Lee, please slow down. I’ll pay the ticket if we got caught.” Lee slid back down to 70. 

“Ok. But I’m holding you to it.” He said, taking it down to 60 as they moved past a 45 MPH sign. 

When they got to the main street, Lee calmed down. There were lights and cops and pedestrians as they moved back into civilization, so he had to. 

Even going the speed limit, at this time of night, they made it back to Lee’s place in no time, with prime parking right in the front of his apartment building. 

“This never happens.” Lee said as he slid into the spot. 

“Happened when I picked you up.” 

“You must be,” he put two fingers over two others, the sign Aidan had told him meant hashtag, but he couldn’t seem to use sincerely. “Blessed.” 

“I feel it around you.” Richard said. It was true, and Lee knew it. He swallowed, terrified of Richard’s affection. Well, terrified of getting used to it and then losing it.

“Then you should come up and spend the night.” He chanced. Whatever was going on wasn’t going to last long, and Lee wanted to drain every minute he had with Richard before he was gone for good. 

Richard had a conference call in the morning. He had so much to pull together and no idea how he was going to do it. But he could call in on his cell phone, and he had a competent assistant. In fact, he had a couple of them. And Lee was waiting for an answer with big, scared eyes that Richard didn’t want to disappoint, ever. 

“I can do that.” He said, even though he probably shouldn’t. 

“Great.” Lee said, finally breathing. “Nothing matches, it’s a pigsty, and we still have a tube TV in the living room. You’re going to love it.” They got out of the car as Richard laughed. 

“You think I’m interested in you because of your degree in interior design?” He asked.

“Its one of the many things about me that you like and I don’t have.” 

“Such as?” Richard asked as they walked into the elevator.

“Movie star looks, dazzling personality, absolutely perfect cock.” The doors opened on the second floor and Richard followed Lee’s lead. 

“You do have all those things.” 

“And what I like about you is that you’re perceptive enough to tell when some one’s fishing for compliments.” He said, stopping at the front door and searching for his keys. 

“It is one of my many talents.” Lee unlocked the door. 

“Can’t wait to find out what the others are.” He said, and then ushered him inside. 

Where Aidan and Dean were cuddling on the couch, naked. Aidan looked up first. 

“Hey.” He said. Lee put his keys on the hook, unfazed at his naked assistant lying on top of his roommate. 

“Hey guys. This is Richard. Did you get a chance to meet him at the wine tasting?” 

“Not formally.” Aidan said, climbing off Dean, who made no attempt to move the pillow mere inches away over himself. There seemed to be no rules about modesty, and Richard tried to mask how incredibly odd and uncomfortable this was for him. Just imagine they’re wearing clothes he told himself. “Great to meet you.” Aidan said, outstretching his arm. Richard told himself not to hesitate and took Aidan’s hand. 

“Likewise.” Aidan took back his hand. 

“I’m going to get a snack. Anyone want anything?” 

“Grab me some cheetos.” Dean said. 

“I think we’re good.” Lee said, grabbing Richard’s hand and pulling him into the bedroom as Aidan yelled from the kitchen that Dean was out of Cheetos, but there were plenty of Funions. 

****************************

Lee’s room wasn’t too bad. Everything matched, even if it was well loved. There was very little clutter on the floor (he prayed there wouldn’t be any reason that Richard would look in the closet.) There was a desk in the corner. It was quaint. 

“Welcome to lifestyles of the broke and obscure.” Lee started. “If you need to run, may I suggest a stomachache or an early meeting for excuses to get the hell out of here?” Richard laughed, worrying that he was supporting Lee’s obvious deflection. He walked over and held Lee’s hand. 

“I like it.” Richard said. 

He got it. The clothes, the cars, the beach house. Lee thought that was what Richard must care about. And Richard did like having those things. But he didn’t care what Lee liked. He liked Lee no matter what he liked. 

He kissed Lee, because he didn’t know how to say “I don’t care about this.” without sounding like a stuck up prick. 

They ended up in bed pretty quickly, and as soon as they were on the mattress, it hit them just how late it was. Richard waited until Lee was asleep to pull out his phone to shift a few things. 

The first time Lee woke up- 6:30- Richard was sitting at his desk, on the phone. Lee turned around, squinting because the blinds were open just enough for deadly rays of sunshine to pierce through. 

“Come back to bed.” He mouthed. Richard smiled apologetically and put up his index finger, one more minute. Lee laid back down, and was asleep by the time Richard climbed back into bed at seven. 

The second time Lee woke up- eight- was in a fright. Not a nightmare exactly, just nerves that had crept up and startled him awake. He’d momentarily forgotten that Richard was there, and as he turned to see him sleeping, his heartbeat began to steady. There was something about the way he was lying there- so peaceful- Lee wanted to reach out, but he couldn’t do it. He couldn’t risk waking Richard up for nothing important, so he laid back down and stared at the ceiling until he finally drifted back to sleep. 

The third time Lee woke up, Dean was leaning on the doorframe. Lee had literally just fallen back to sleep, and there was Dean, holding two mugs and leaning on the fucking door frame. 

It wasn’t like this was an odd occurrence, at least he was wearing shorts today. 

“What?” Lee asked. 

“Coffee?” 

“Ew, no.” Lee said as Richard grabbed for it. 

“Nah, it’s fine now- Aidan fixed the coffee pot.” Well, in that case...Lee reached for a cup as well. 

“It didn’t need to be fixed.” 

“Well, he cleaned it then.” Lee took a sip. 

“This is almost good. You should keep him.” 

“You’re welcome to try.” Aidan said, appearing out of nowhere and giving Dean a playful hip check. 

“Why are you dressed?” Dean asked. 

“It’s time for work.” He looked at Lee. “Wanna carpool?” The coffee wasn’t the only thing Lee was seeing as a benefit to Aidan and Dean’s involvement- he made a note that he still needed to talk to Dean about that- if Aidan was driving him to work, he could drink all night if he felt like it... 

He kinda felt like he had last night, even though he’d been almost completely sober. 

“I’ll take a raincheck.” He said. “I’m going back to sleep.” He said and, as if on cue, he let out a huge yawn. Dean and Aidan looked from Richard to Lee and smiled. 

“Rest up.” Aidan said. 

“See you soon.” Lee shot back as Aidan and Dean closed the door. Lee put his mug on the nightstand and covered his head with his blanket. 

“Shouldn’t you go to work?” Richard asked. 

“Shouldn’t you?” 

“I don’t think they’re quite as strict with my time.” Richard said. “Besides...I’m going to be out of town for a while, I’ve actually been meaning to tell you.” 

Lee froze. How convenient. “Going out of town.” It sure did sound nicer than “Well, thanks for the beeje, but I’m pretty sure I can still pick up pussy.” Didn’t it?

“Anything fun?” 

“God, no. Just work.” Richard reached over Lee’s shoulder to put his coffee cup down next to Lee’s. He didn’t take his arm back, wrapping it around Lee’s instead. “You don’t think I’d leave town right after I met you intentionally, do you?” 

That’s exactly what Lee thought. 

“No. Of course not.” He said. Then, he turned around. They were face to face now, nearly forehead to forehead. Richard had terrible coffee breath. Lee kissed him anyways.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wealth Engine is a real thing that exists- it's not even the best program out there. I ran my Wealth Engine one time, and then I cried.   
> There are literally three malls in a row next to my house- and its not even the only place in a 30 mile radius where that happens. Its really gross and the traffic is a nightmare.  
> Road Head is dangerous (but doesn't it sound like fun?!)  
> That park also exists, you should check it out if you're in the far side of the valley (I know, I know, if you're in LA, why the hell are you gonna be on the far side of the Valley? Well, maybe you're visiting me, smart ass)   
> I always end up going too late in the day, but I don't get caught out there that late at night. Also, try as I might, I've never managed anything more than a kiss under those rocks (so, technically, this chapter is YOUR fault, gigglingmuse.)


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're ever in the situation where you're wondering if you're packing enough lube, always pack more, you can never have enough lube.

“Hey superstar.” Aidan said when Lee finally walked in the front door. Lee took off his sunglasses- one of the many worst parts of the day, when the fluorescent bulbs rained over him and reminded him of exactly where he was. 

“What are you talking about?” He asked. Once again, he was jealous of Aidan’s demeanor. How could anyone be that happy? Especially here!

“Better sign in soon.” He warned Lee, who immediately rushed into his office and logged onto their donation database. 

Fuck. $20,000 in his honor. That couldn’t be. It was impossible- Lee had been with Richard all night… who the hell can just charge 20K in the middle of the fucking night? 

And, doesn’t he have any idea how high credit card processing fees are? A transaction on the web like that, they were losing something that would equate to almost a week of Lee’s pay on that transaction alone. 

Not to mention it was a stupid business choice, anyways. How many tax deductions could you possibly need in one quarter? Lee looked down at the donation again. The memo line just said “Thank you.” He cringed, knowing that Dinah could read the message, too, and that she was going to be in any minute. 

“Ding-Dong, the witch is here.” Aidan said, looking out one of the few windows not reserved for the locked up offices of Senior Management. Lee craned his neck to see Dinah closing her tiny sports car’s door. 

Lee remembered how frustrated that car had made him. Why should she tell him he couldn’t hire someone for more than minimum wage, but she could afford to buy a $70,000 car? Now, he looked at it and shrugged. It was just a Beemer after all. 

He knew she was going to walk right through the door and ask him to come to her office. He didn’t know what else he could do, so he just sat back in his chair and pretended to look busy.

Dinah rushed into the office with the flourish as she always had and, as predicted, went straight to Lee’s office. 

“Morning.” Lee said, not looking up. 

“Judging by your night, I would assume you were having a great morning, Lee.”

“What would you know about my night, Dinah?” She walked into his actual office. 

“You’re right, I don’t know…. But you can tell me.” 

“I will not hesitate to yell sexual harassment.” Lee threatened. 

“Who said anything about sex? You’re the only one talking about sex.”

“Dinah...I know what you’re thinking, ok? But Richard and I…” He didn’t know how to end the sentence. They were obviously more than friends, though he didn’t know exactly how serious you could be after two dates that weren’t even really dates. He felt a pinch of anxiety in his lungs as the thought that Richard was just looking for someone to show him the ropes. Wouldn’t that explain the embarrassingly exorbitant gifts? Dinah was looking at him expectantly and he’d forgotten the sentence he’d started. “We’re just getting to know each other.” He finished. 

Dinah closed the door and sat down, drawing herself closer over Lee’s desk, which he would have to sanitize once she left. 

“Do you remember that talk we had earlier, Lee?” 

“I remember you talking at me about something.” 

“Opportunity, Lee. I was talking about opportunity.” 

“And?” 

“Lee, I didn’t want to make you feel awkward, but I see a lot of potential in you.” 

“Why would that make me feel awkward?”

“Because, I’ve been talking to the board.” The Board. The Board. Everyone who talks to the board is so important. “And they agree with me.” 

Lee didn’t know how that could be. He was pretty sure most of the board thought he was one of the waiters. Dinah continued, ignoring the incredulous face Lee was giving her. 

“You’ve been dedicated,” to Jack Daniels maybe, “Perceptive,” He’d certainly perceived where all the closest bars in the area were, “And hardworking.” Lee wasn’t sure where she could even pretend that idea came from. “And we think there’s a better place for you here.” 

“If I fuck Richard and grab his wallet on the way out?” 

“Lee, you’re looking at this the wrong way.” Dinah put her hand on top of his, and he moved it away. “Sorry. I just… you care about us, don’t you?” He looked at her for a moment. He couldn’t give a fuck about her, the board, hell, even Aidan would land on his feet so what did it all matter? 

But deep down, he knew he still cared about the job, the work they were doing- sometimes even well. He was bruised and broken from the struggle, but damn it he still believed he was changing the world. 

“Your point?” 

“My point is...You don’t have to think about your relationship in such black and white terms. Just because Richard likes you doesn’t mean he doesn’t like the cause.” Lee thought for a second so Dinah continued. “He came to that mixer for a reason.” 

“Boredom isn’t a very good reason.” Dinah really hated it when people criticised her events. She’d gone apeshit so many times even Lee didn’t bother to give her notes. But he was ready for her to go running out of his office with a steaming red face, even if it meant payback later. 

So of course she calmed herself, swallowed, and asked. 

“How can we make them better?” Lee was caught off guard. 

“What do you care?” 

“I’m looking for your input, Lee.”  
When Lee had been a tiny little assistant, working on a laptop that barely processed, he had been asked for his input. When he had moved up, and they’d needed his replacement, they had had for his input. When they were having issue upon issue with an event, or a campaign or the design of a brochure, they’d asked for his input. There were a thousand times that Lee could think of where they had asked for his input. 

And every fucking time, he’s worked his ass off to come up with good suggestions. And every fucking time, he’d been shot down. Not just shot down, shouted down. So he stopped trying. You don’t give up with one rejection, or two, or even twenty. But at some time, you just stop wasting your energy.

If he really wanted something done, Lee knew how to do it: make his idea look like Dinah’s idea. It didn’t even have to be Dinah’s idea, if he could get a director on board. It just couldn’t come from him. It took him a long time to realize that they weren’t asking for input, they were asking to pretend to include everyone below Director level. 

Even after he suspected that, he didn’t give up right away. He cared, damn it, and if something could be better, why the hell shouldn’t the whole team make it better? But weeks turn to months turn to years. And he was worn and weary, he was tired of pretending his input mattered. He was tired of trying. 

By the time Dinah wanted to hear what she could have done better at Wine Tasting in the Mountains, Lee didn’t have it in him to pretend again. He’d lost it so long ago, he couldn’t muster up the courage to get shot down again. 

“I’ll get back to you.” He said. 

“Today?” 

“What’s it matter?” 

“We’ve got a meeting with Bill at 4.” Lee really didn’t like this. Bill was the nicest man in the history of dusty old white dudes. He had a Mark Sawyer moustache and a good connection to be here. The only reason anyone was allowed on the board of directors was because they were loaded, and while Lee didn’t doubt Bill had some sweet stacks, he was pretty down to earth, especially considering the fact that he was head of the board. 

Lee didn’t want to talk to Bill though. They said hi and had a silent beer during the yearly gala so Bill could always say that he knew all the staff. They weren’t due for another beer for 6 months. 

“Why?” 

“I said the board saw potential in you.” Dinah stood up she could tell she’d got a rise out of Lee and she was going to leave him with it. “Til then.” She told him as she walked away. Lee looked down. 

“Close the door.” He asked, and she left it half open. 

****************************

Four O’clock would never come. Lee had a meeting with Aidan. 

There wasn’t anything to talk about, he just wanted to be distracted from how much time he had left. Aidan played candy crush with the sound turned up. 

At 3, Bill walked in the door, and Lee stood up to greet him, but even though he smiled at Lee kindly, he didn’t waste even a step or a simply hello as he went straight into Dinah’s office. 

Lee wondered if he could rig the phone in Dinah’s office to be a bug. But the plan soon fell short, with the fact that he wasn’t in her office to do it. There was nothing to do but wait, so he sat back in his chair and played minesweeper until his phone rang. 

“Can you come in here?” She asked. He held in the deep desire to tell her no as he hung up the phone and made his way across the room to her office and knocked on the door. 

 

“Come in!” She said, her “cheery” voice ringing through the whole office. Lee opened up and stood at the door until she motioned to the free seat next to Phil. 

“So glad to have you here, Lee.” Bill said. 

“Thank you, sir.” 

“It’s Bill. Now, do you know why I’m here today?” 

“Is it something to do with Richard Armitage?” Bill looked towards Dinah. Of course it had to do with Richard. But apparently it wasn’t polite to admit that. 

“The board has seen some need for restructuring in your department.” 

“In the middle of the fiscal year?” 

“We prefer to act fast when we see a problem.” The board never acted fast. Dinah never acted fast. Even Lee didn’t act fast, if he could help it. 

“What’s the problem?” 

“Your title isn’t right any more.” 

“Ok, listen. I’ve had that title for 3 years, and I’ve earned it. I’m not-”

“No one’s saying you didn’t earn it, Lee. We were just thinking it needs the word Director in front of it.” 

Lee nearly fell out of his chair. 

“What?” 

“And, obviously, that would come with new benefits, a more flexible schedule, and the obligatory raise, of course.” 

“Of course.” Lee parroted. He sucked his teeth, and then he scolded himself for sucking his teeth. Why couldn’t he just think internally? “And this is contingent on an Armitage sponsorship to which event?” 

“Events will of course, still be under my jurisdiction, Lee.” Dinah said. “Your input is, as always, welcome, but there won’t be a requirement for anything.” 

“Won’t?” 

“Well,” Bill started. “You’d have to accept the position first, of course.” 

Lee caught himself before he sucked his teeth again, then he stood up. 

“I’m going to need a night to think on it.” He paused. “But if you could send me the offer letter, so I can get all my ducks in a row.” 

He walked out of the office, grabbed his bag, and left without explaining anything to Aidan. 

****************************

Lee was asleep when his phone rang. He’d wanted to talk about the whole Directorship with someone, but Dean was “busy” and as much as he liked the other people he hung out with, they weren’t really the sorts who would understand. Or care. 

It wasn’t as if he was opposed to success. He was very definitely for success. And he wanted that D so bad…

Speaking of the D, Lee looked down and saw Richard’s number. He hesitated almost too long, but picked up right before it went to voicemail. 

“Hey.” 

“Morning.” 

“It’s the middle of the night.” 

“Really? Why’d you answer then?” 

“Thought it might be an emergency.” 

“Nothing too high priority, I’m afraid.” Lee rolled back onto the bed and stared at the ceiling as they talked. 

“What then? I’m up now anyways.” 

“I just wanted to know how your day was.” 

“You got me in trouble.” 

“I did?” 

“You dumped 20K on my desk, Richard.” 

“I didn’t realize that would get you in trouble.” 

“Dinah keeps on calling me into her office every time you send us hunks of cash.” 

“There’s something about the way you talk about money that turns me on.” 

“That’s a good thing to know.” 

“What?” 

“Even half way around the world, I can turn you on.” 

“I bet you can do a lot more than that.” 

“Are you calling me for dirty talk?” 

“I was calling to say good morning, not that I’m opposed to dirty talk.” 

Lee rolled over onto his stomach, and smiled. 

“What are you going to do if I make it turn into dirty talk?” 

“Enjoy it.” 

“So, you won’t be signing over the deed to your beach house?” 

“Is...is that what you’d like, Lee?”

“It’s what my boss would like.” 

“Are you offended at me, or them?” 

“I’m kind of offended at both.” 

“Why them?” 

“Because they want me to use you like a golden goose. They don’t care what’s going on between you and me, but they still want to know every detail because you’re the cash cow.” 

“Goose, Cow, I had no idea I was such a farmhouse menagerie.” 

“Not to me.” 

“That’s what I like about you.” 

“You like that I don’t have dollar signs in my eyes when I look at you? Richard, you should have higher standards.” 

“I do. That’s just one of the things I like about you.”

“I want to listen to a long list of what you like about me… but I also am still annoyed at you.” 

“Why?” 

“Because, you’re kinda doing the same thing.” 

“What are you talking about?” 

“I don’t know how to say this without being offensive.” 

“Then just say it.”

“You make me feel like a whore, Richard.” 

“I do?” Richard swallowed, it wasn’t his intention at all, and Lee could tell, now that he’d said it. 

“We go out, and the next day, there’s a bunch of cash sitting in our account with my name literally on it. Granted, I appreciate the sentiment, but even with that many zeros attached, it makes me feel cheap.” 

There’s a pause on the other end of the line. Richard wasn’t expecting to take the road this conversation had gone down. What he’d been throwing Lee’s way was nothing to him- he wouldn’t miss a single penny of it, and it amounted to about two suits- which he could still purchase if he wanted to. 

He did realize that wasn’t the world that Lee lived in. Already, Richard was thinking of ways to change that. He understood that the right encouragement at work might go a long way. He’d expected gratitude- what development officer didn’t gush when you threw down bills like they were easy to come by? Lee, apparently. 

“I just wanted to say thank you.” 

“For what?” 

“For spending time with me.” 

“Rich...you don’t have to pay me to spend time with you.” 

“I wasn’t… Lee, I didn’t mean to make you feel cheap. I was just trying to be clever.” 

“Clever?”

 

“Well, I’m sure you’ve been texted by some one, and an email just seemed silly...I just wanted to make you smile in the morning, and I knew you’d be able to see it this way. And it was going to a good place...so who did it hurt?” 

Lee sighed. Richard was trying to be sweet, and his sour, bitter heart hadn’t seen kindness for so long, he didn’t know how to accept it. 

“It doesn’t hurt anyone.” He said. “But, $499 doesn’t hurt anyone, either.” 

“What?” 

“You’re right, Richard. It’s more clever than a text or an email, and it’s going to a good cause. But I’ll still see it if you send me $499 every now and then.” 

“That’s a very specific amount.” 

“Anything over $500 triggers an email to Dinah.” 

“And you don’t want Dinah to know about the money you’re bringing in?” 

“I don’t care what Dinah knows as long as she stays the fuck out of my office. Which doesn’t happen when you send me 10 grand.” 

“I was only trying to impress on them what an incredibly valuable member of their team you are.” 

“Well, it worked.” 

“What?” 

“They offered me a raise and a promotion. Director.” 

“What’s that mean?” 

“Same thing it meant before, except now I’m dating you.” 

“Congratulations!” A chill of excitement ran down Richard’s back. Dating?

“You might want to hold that sentiment. I said they offered, not that I accepted.” 

“Why wouldn’t you accept? It’s a promotion.” 

“Yeah, but I don’t like the idea of having to work with them.” 

“That sounds terrible.” 

“I know. And I shouldn’t be telling you this- why would you want to give any more if you knew how fucked up it was?”

“Do you want to know a development trick?” 

“Sure.” 

“People in my position don’t care about what happens with this money.” 

“What?” 

“I mean, of course we want schools to be built and diseases to be eradicated and parks to be protected-” 

“There aren’t nonprofits to protect parks.” 

“-of course there are. But it doesn’t matter. We’re getting our tax write off, as you know, and we’re acting like we have a part in something good. How the people who get the money use it is really not that important.”

“How insightful, but I really don’t know what you’re actually trying to tell me.” 

“Don’t think of this as a reward for dating me.” Richard felt butterflies in his stomach again. Lee had said it first. So they were officially dating. It was exciting to think that he could call up a man as beautiful and smart and insane as Lee and his call would be taken, even in the middle of the night. It was a lot to take in. “Think of it as an opportunity to do more.” 

“I guess even that could be easier when they double my salary.” He said. 

“Always a perk.” 

“You want me to take this job?”

“I don’t think it’s realistically my place to tell you what to do. We haven’t even known each other a full week.” 

It hit Lee that it was true. He’d known, logically, that Richard hadn’t been in his life for any amount of time. But, to hear it said so honestly, it astonished him that he could have let some one in so quickly. He didn’t think that was who he was. How could Richard have burrowed so deeply into his heart when Lee wasn’t even sure he still had a heart? 

“But without you, I wouldn’t have even had the chance.” 

“I don’t think that’s true.” 

“No, Richard, I’m really terrible. I haven’t done any real work for 2 years.” 

“I might have been the catalyst, Lee, but that doesn’t mean you don’t deserve good things.” 

For that moment, Lee wasn’t sure that Richard knew him at all. Did he deserve good things? How could anyone tell after 5 or 6 days?

“They’re going to expect me to get things from you.” 

“So you’ll get things from me.” 

“Maybe I was dancing around this before: I’m not a whore.” 

“That’s a rude word, and I’m not trying to imply that you are. But if you needed something, I would want you to have it, regardless of how any of our dates ended.” 

Dates. As in more dating. Richard and Lee both wondered if they were reading too far into things. But it was true, Richard believed in his cause, he believed in Lee, and he really didn’t care about the money. 

“It really sucks that you’re halfway around the world right now.” 

“Why?” 

“Because I want to thank you properly.” 

“Oh.” Richard smiled. “Well...I’m just in London. Not really half way around the world.” 

“Might as well be, to me.” 

“Can you take a day off?” 

“Why?” 

“It’s a surprise.”

“I guess I could tell Dinah I need another day to think about things.” 

“Great! Can you get a ride to Santa Monica Airport, or do you need me to call you a car.” 

“You’re going to call me a car?” 

“Well, someone will call you a car.” Lee imagined that life was pretty different for Richard. No laundry, no dishes, Lee wondered if Richard ever had to do anything he didn’t want to. 

“Don’t worry. I’ve got a ride.” 

“Wonderful. Bring your passport.” Lee scanned his mind, trying to remember where his passport was. “See you soon.” 

“See you soon.” He said, still not sure where it was as he and Richard ended the call.

After frantically looking through the mess- and once again vowing that he would one day get his shit together, he found the passport where he’d last left it, in the bag he’d packed from time he and Dean had flown to Puerto Vallarta for spring break god knows how long ago. 

He looked at the bag while he texted Dinah that he wasn’t going to be in. It wasn’t that big, and he wondered if he should pack something- just in case Richard had something nice in mind. He decided against it, seeing as he had next to nothing nice to pack anyways. He could get away with just wearing the best he had, with a casual shirt underneath.

****************************

Dean was dreaming. It was a good one. He was fucking his ex girlfriend, who was actually talking to him again. (That was exactly why he knew it was a dream) Then, Aidan walked in. Oh, this was going to get interesting. 

He walked towards them, those sultry dark eyes and red lips, and he said…

“Get up, buttmunch.” Dean didn’t question it, closed his eyes tighter, and concentrated on the way Aidan was sitting down on the bed next to them. 

“I’m fucking serious.” He felt a shoe gently pushing him on his hip. 

Resigned, he opened his eyes and turned around to look past the grumpy giant at his alarm clock. 

“It’s feckin 4 in the morning.” Dean said. Lee tossed him the least dirty pair of pants on the floor. 

“I know. I need a ride.” Dean turned around, pulled the covers over his naked body, and mumbled. 

“Get a cab.” 

“It’s only Santa Monica.” Lee said. “And besides, you owe me.” 

Dean was pretty sure it was Lee who owed him. But the rules for who owed who were so arbitrary. Doing the dishes, picking up beer, answering the door for the pizza guy, helping at a gig or event. Dean could never keep track of who owed who what, so Lee pretty much always got his way. Dean had no idea what he was gonna do if either of them ever stopped being broke and could move out on their own. 

“Fine.” He grumbled. 

After getting up and making a coffee- Dean was saving so much money now that Aidan had made the Keurig useable again and he was slightly less late everywhere now that he didn’t have to stop by starbucks all the time- he grabbed his keys and headed for the door. 

“Are you kidding me?” Lee asked. 

“What? You said you needed me to give you a ride.” Lee handed Dean his keys, and took Dean’s out of his hand. 

“No way. We’re taking mine.” Dean sighed, and walked a little grumpily to Lee’s ratty old car, eyeing his magnificent motorcycle as they walked past it.

****************************

Lee waved off a grumpy O’Gorman and turned around to marvel at the hangars before him. 

Richard had emailed him all the information. Well, Richard’s assistant had. 

He found the right place, and needed to pinch himself. A private jet, a waiting flight attendant, a pilot who was rearing and ready to go. This was definitely a dream. 

He decided to go with it anyways, all strapped in, his flight attendant, sitting across from him in one of the plush leather seats. 

The flight was incredibly long, and he eventually fell asleep somewhere over the Atlantic. When he woke up, he was in Paris. 

Wait… Paris? Richard was in London, why was he in Paris? 

He was about to get nervous- his French was atrocious- when he spotted Richard in the back of the hangar, on his phone. He closed it and smiled as soon as he saw Lee. 

Lee momentarily lost his breath. It was too early to miss him this much. Lee felt like the only thing he’d had time for all week was telling himself to slow down. 

But he couldn’t. He looked at Richard, smiling with his phone in his hand behind his back, and he knew- he didn’t have an excuse for it, he just knew- that Richard was doing the same. And they were both failing. They were both making stupid choices because that’s what you do when you’re in love. 

Lee had always thought himself a pragmatic individual, someone with a good head on his shoulders. But now, he thought he was probably just as stupid as everyone else in the world, he’d just never really be in love before. 

Something he needed to keep buried. Because it was one thing to think that he could fall head over heels for someone after such a short amount of time. But it was a completely different thing to admit it, and scare away something he was sure was going to be great. 

“You made it.” Richard said. “In one piece, even!” He wrapped his arm around Lee’s waist, inadvertently pressing his phone into Lee’s stomach. 

The fact that Richard was touching Lee at that very minute was euphoric. He had been devastated to be called away so soon after meeting him, and while he knew it would have been crazy for him to ask Lee to come with him, he couldn’t resist at least seeing him for dinner. 

“We’ll see.” Lee said, and Richard laughed. God, he had a nice laugh. Lee wished he knew what jokes he liked- he wished he knew a million jokes to tell Richard, just so he could hear that laugh. 

“I’ve got a surprise for you.” 

“Paris was a surprise in itself.” 

“What?” 

“I thought you said you were in London.” 

“Oh, I am. But Paris is so much nicer, don’t you think?” 

“I wouldn’t really...sure.” 

“Did you want to eat English food? I can tell you from years of experience, you’re not missing anything.” 

“I have no preference. It was just a surprise.” 

“So sorry. Hopefully, dinner will make up for the misunderstanding.” 

“You’re welcome to try.” Lee said, Richard looked over, making sure that Lee was giving him the telltale smile that made him sure that he was joking. 

****************************

“You liked dessert?” Richard asked, finishing the last morsel of his own. 

Obviously, it was more romantic to share a desert. The problem with that was… you’d have to share your desert. Richard had apologised, but he wasn’t going to share his pudding. 

Lee didn’t mind the largesse. He didn’t think he could eat an entire piece of cake on his own, but then he’d never had a cake this good, and he’d surprised himself with just how quickly he’d devoured it. 

“I liked the cake.” He said, pressing a crumb into his finger and bringing it up to his lips. “But I haven’t had dessert yet.” He took the crumb with his finger, looked over at Richard, who was turning red in the cheeks. 

“L'addition s'il vous plait.” He said to the passing waiter. 

****************************

It was a wonder they ever made it to the room at all. 

The hotel wasn’t one Richard knew- he didn’t spend enough time in France. It was at least close to the restaurant. 

Walking next to Lee was exhilarating on its own, but at the moment, every time his hand brushed up against Richard’s, he was convinced he would crumble into a pile of dust, sexually satisfied dust. 

The second they made it to their floor, Richard had Lee pressed up against the wall, kissing every inch of exposed skin, which there wasn’t enough of. 

“Woah, cowboy.” Lee said as Richard tried to pull off his shirt. “Why don’t we open the door first?” 

Richard made haste in unlocking the room. Well… room wasn’t exactly the right word. Suite. Penthouse. Heaven. Who cared? It was unlocked and they were in it and the plane ride had been so long. It had given Lee the time to think up so many things to do to Richard that he was like a kid in a candy store, overwhelmed by all the delicious options before him. 

Before Lee had a chance, Richard lunged at him, practically devouring his neck as his hands deftly maneuvered, pulling up his shirt and unbuckling his belt. Lee took off the shirt and tossed it aside like the garbage it was, then pulled Richard in for a kiss he was sure they would both remember for the rest of their lives. 

It wasn’t until they were both completely nude that Lee looked over and noticed that every curtain in the place was wide open. He moved to close one, and Richard pulled him back. He moved a different way and Richard kissed him before he could get away. 

“I’m getting the curtains.” Lee said with a laugh. “I’ll just be a second.” 

“I don’t think I can go that long without you.” Richard said, moving behind him and pulling him close. Lee closed his eyes, concentrated on the way Richard’s cock felt, hot and hard, pressed against the back of his thigh. 

“Well then you better come with me.” He said. Richard wrapped his arms around Lee’s chest- another experience he was going to memorize. 

“Why don’t we just go to the bedroom, instead?” He whispered in his ear. Lee didn’t have any problem with that, so he followed Richard into the bedroom. Followed wasn’t the right word. Groped and kissed while almost falling on the floor as they walked to the bedroom was more accurate. 

They fell on the bed, arms and legs as entangled as their tongues. For the first time in a very long time, Lee hadn’t felt the need to down the whole bottle of wine with dinner. In fact, he hadn’t even noticed that he’d barely taken a sip- even though it was an impressive vintage- exactly the sort of thing you would expect a billionaire to order on a third date. Why would you bother drinking, when you could be drunk on Richard? Lee hadn’t needed the lubrication. 

Speaking of needed lubrication…

Lee pulled away, a very audible whimper from Richard going straight into his ear. 

“I’ll be right back.” He said, standing up. “You’ll like this.” He kissed Richard on the nose. “I promise.” 

And he ran back to the outer room and grabbed his bag, praying the tiny bottle of lube and the 4 or 5 condoms he’d brought would get them through the night. Lee found the bottle, and tried not to kick himself for realizing that no one would have been searching him on a private plane, and he could have brought a whole fucking gallon of lube and no one would have given a damn. He turned back to the bedroom, convinced he would make it work. 

Richard was lying on his side, hand at the base of his cock, trying very hard not to pull himself off in Lee’s absence. Lee stood there for a moment, mesmerized. 

“Everything alright?” He asked. 

“Yeah… you’re just...beautiful.” It was dark, but even though he couldn’t see it, Lee could feel Richard blushing. 

“If I’m so beautiful, why are you all the way over there?” Richard made a good point, so Lee walked over, nearly falling as he jumped on top of him and gave Richard a big kiss. 

“Love the entrance.” Richard said. Lee passed his hand over Richard’s ass and smiled. 

“Me, too.” Something stirred in Richard, a fear he hadn’t expected to have, even if this was all new for him. He’d finally made the decision that he was going to explore his feelings, and he wasn’t going to let a little internalized homophobia ruin this experience. 

So he kissed Lee. Harder than he ever had before. Harder than he’d ever kissed anyone before. He’d fallen into this faster than he’d ever expected, but now that he was here, there was no reason not to go all the way. 

Lee ran his hands over every inch of Richard’s body he could reach, memorizing the way his muscles moved with every touch. Memorizing the way his face distorted with the right ones, and how no matter what face he made, it was more beautiful than the last. 

He wrapped his hand around Richard’s prick, cursing himself once more for not bringing more lube. He swipes his hand across his slit, and uses precum instead. There’s a shift, Richard’s moved towards him, but Lee didn’t want him to. Not yet. He kissed him back down, readjusted, he’s on top of him now, let go, and his cock lined up against Richard’s. 

Once he’d calmed down from the intense high of feeling himself against Richard, Lee moved again, kissing him as he wrapped his fingers around them both. A second later, he felt Richard’s hands moving around them, and he let go, sliding his knees onto the bed and guiding Richard’s legs around his waist. 

Richard didn’t miss a beat, sliding his hand around both of them at a steady pace. It was getting to be too much for Lee, who had spent a lot of time thinking about this on the long plane ride… and perhaps a few days before that. He moved his hand between them, under Richard’s balls, and was about to lightly touch his asshole when Richard froze. 

“You want to stop?” Lee said, trying not to show how rejected a simple muscle movement had just made him feel. 

“I...I just...figured I would...that you would…” Lee pulled off him. 

“Right.” Richard sat up and immediately went to him. 

“No, Lee, please don’t be offended.” 

“I’m not.” Lee lied. “I get it. It’s one thing to have a dude’s dick in your mouth, that’s so much less gay than letting him fuck you.” 

Richard didn’t have an argument. When Lee said it like that, he realized how stupid his feeling was. It didn’t change the fact that the second Lee’s finger went for him, he’d seized up in terror. It occurred to him that he might not be as ready for all this as he thought he was. 

“It’s not that, Lee.” He lied. “I only thought… It might be easier to ease into these sorts of things...if I tried the other way first.” 

Lee turned around. He didn’t want to be mad, knowing he’d have so many hours to stew about this on the plane. 

“I understand where you’re coming from, Rich, I really do. And it’s not just a preference thing. I’m as versatile as the next guy.” Richard didn’t really think it worked that way, but Lee was the one with the experience, what could he say? “I just want you to understand what you’re doing before you do it.” 

“What makes you think I don’t?” He didn’t. Richard knew that some men were downright obsessed with anal sex with women, but he’d always been satisfied without it. Even with his same sex desires, he hadn’t seen how fucking a woman in the ass would be the same thing as fucking a man. 

“I just want to be with you, Richard. I want to be the first person inside, and I want to make you feel so good that you never want another man. I’m sorry if that’s greedy. I don’t have any better reason I just-” Lee didn’t get to finish his sentence because Richard’s lips were on his, his tongue burrowing into his mouth, his hands pulling Lee closer. 

Lee wanted to be the only man for him, and that was all he’d needed to hear. The second he’d heard that, it had been all the convincing Richard had needed. He still needed to tell him- with actual words- which was going to seriously cut down on the time he would get to spend with his lips on Lee’s. But he finally managed to pull away. 

“Alright… So, do I need to turn over and…” Lee kissed him softly, it was hotter than anything Richard had ever felt in his life. 

“I promise you, we’ll get there. But, this time, I want to see your face.” 

“Are you sure? I’m a little worried about being able to contort.” Lee gave him a smirk of disbelief. 

“We’re not talking about circus acrobatics, Richard. And even if we were...how many hours do you spend doing Yoga?” Richard shrugged. Enough, for sure. Apparently, Lee had noticed. 

Even that little comment made Richard flush- he felt like a school boy around Lee- who had apparently spent enough time thinking about his body to be able to to tell within a week what sorts of exercises he preferred. This felt like a good sign. Richard was looking for anything and everything to let him know that this was a good sign. 

Lee kissed Richard out of his stupor, one hand running down to wrap around Richard’s cock again, the other moving up the bed, grabbing the lube and putting the condoms right next to Richard’s thigh. 

He watched as Lee flicked open the bottle and squeezed a generous amount on his fingers. Richard didn’t think Lee was looking, so he was surprised to hear him. 

“Don’t worry, I’m going to go slow.” He flicked the bottle closed and tossed it to the side. “I want you to love this.” Richard relaxed as much as he could, concentrating on Lee’s face as Lee concentrated on slowly moving one finger between his cheeks. 

Which didn’t feel bad. Not at all. Lee was patient, not pressing, not pushing, just slowly teasing the skin around his ass until Richard almost cried out for him to do something. When Lee sensed that he was ready, he made a ginger tap on Richard’s asshole. Then a little more, and a a little more. He finally pressed in, still slowly. 

It wasn’t anything like Richard had imagined- or feared. Foreign, perhaps, but like a well prepared meal from a culture you didn’t really know. Lee worked him open enough for two fingers, and Richard let out a sigh as they slid in. There was a stretch, but he was ready for it, and as Lee’s fingers delved deeper, he found himself craving more. 

“It feels like you’re ready...are you ready to try this, Richard?” 

“Yes.” He let out, not at all liking how hoarse his voice sounded, like he was giving away how wanton he was. Lee loved it, though. 

He pulled his fingers out, slid on a condom and just a dab more lube before lining up against Richard, looking down at him and taking his time slowly entering. It was better than he’d ever dreamed of, better than anything he’d ever felt with anyone else before. Lee had to take a deep breath to remind himself this needed to be about Richard, first, lest he never get another chance again. 

He needn’t worry. Richard was in his own realm of euphoria. He’d thought that Lee was an exotic dish, a wonderful meal from a place he wasn’t from. But he knew now that it wasn’t true. Lee wasn’t from somewhere foreign, Lee was home. Richard had just never realized he’d been away. 

There wasn’t a second of unpleasantness as Lee took him. Richard felt his legs wrap around Lee’s waist, but it didn’t register as something he was telling them to do, just something that desperately needed to be done. 

Lee was concentrating as hard as possible, embarrassed by how quickly this inexperienced (albeit gorgeous) man was bringing him to the brink. He wrapped his hand back around Richard’s cock, attempting to maintain the same pace with his hand as he was using with his hips. 

Richard couldn’t contain the overwhelming sensation of pleasure, but he also couldn’t come. He never wanted those feelings to stop. Every second he felt himself unraveling more. 

With every groan, he was bringing Lee closer and closer to orgasm, and he finally gave in- hours before he would have liked to. He took too long, wanted to curse himself for forgetting for a split second that Richard was rock hard in his hand while he was gasping for air. He pulled out of him as gently as possible, then crashed into him, still holding his cock between them. 

Richard could care less at that moment. He’d never been so intimate with someone. Richard knew there was so much about Lee he didn’t know yet. They had rushed into things so quickly, and he was feeling vulnerable and emotional. But if rushing had been a mistake, it had been exactly the right mistake. 

He pulled Lee in for another kiss, somehow tumbling them both to their sides. Their lips still locked, Lee pulled off the condom and threw it in the vicinity of where he figured the trash might be. He wrapped an arm around Richard, kissed him again, nuzzled against him and started planting kisses up his neck. 

“What do you want?” He whispered in Richard’s ear. 

“I don’t know.” He admitted. And he really didn’t. Lee smiled, kissed him again. He couldn’t get enough of Richard’s lips, wanted to drown in a sea of Richard’s kisses. It beat the idea of going home in a few hours. He kissed Richard so hard that he forgot about what was going to happen next, how far away they were going to be. 

“I think I know.” Lee said, still searching for places to kiss. 

“You do, eh?” He asked, playfully. Lee nodded into Richard’s neck then whispered again. 

“You want to take me.” Richard felt a chill run down his body. 

“But you just did me.” 

“And?” Lee asked. “It’s not like you only get one a night.” Richard’s preconceived notions regarding same sex relationships were being demolished right and left. Lee curled up close again, his hand caressing Richard’s stomach, his hip, lower. “I want you to feel as good as you made me feel.” He cooed. And Richard was convinced. He turned over, kissed Lee again. 

“Do you want to give me directions?” He asked. Lee smiled on Richard’s mouth. 

“Do you like it when I give you directions?” 

“It just seems you enjoy it.” Lee flipped over onto his back, pulling the line of condoms out from under his stomach. 

“I’m sure you can figure it out.” He said as he handed Richard the condoms. 

And he wasn’t exactly worried about that. Not really. A bit, he admitted to himself as he rolled on a condom. But he’d been intimately involved in the same act a few moments prior, so he was confident that he wouldn’t completely muck it up. 

He slid down the bed, where the bottle of lube was miraculously waiting for him, and took a moment for himself as he squirted a healthy amount on his hand. Lee was looking back at him, smiling, as if he hadn’t a care in the world, as if they were about to share a piece of cake, not the most intimate thing you could do with another man. Richard loved it. 

He wasn’t dense, he’d seen the morose, gloomy person Lee was. He’d felt the depression as he’d walked up to that raffle table. But, the second Lee had looked up, something had changed. Richard knew it was him- he was sure of it. Apparently, Lee was like heroin, or meth, in that the first time he’d tasted it, all he could think about was more. He wanted it always, he wanted all of it. And Lee was looking up at him, pink lips, messy hair, and he was promising with bright green eyes. He was promising Richard everything. 

He put a knee on the bed between Lee’s open legs, and leaned over, his long aching cock dropping onto Lee’s ass and making his knees nearly buckle.

“Richard?” Lee said, as gently as he could. 

“Yes?” 

“Could you...before you dive in, would you mind a little warm up?” 

Richard jumped up. Idiot! How could have forgotten something so important? 

“Sorry.” He said, wishing there were words that would explain his embarrassment. Lee looked back at him and smiled, letting Richard know he understood. 

“No harm, no foul.” He said. Richard smiled, took the bottle of lube, and spread what was left onto his fingers. He attempted to mimic the pace Lee had used on him, but the second his first finger was inside, he was overwhelmed. He (unsuccessfully) tried to develop tunnel vision- he had to make sure Lee was ready but it was all he could do to make sure he didn’t end up salivating all over the poor bloke. He wanted him so badly, and every second without him was absolute agony for Richard. 

“Are you ready?” He asked as he heard Lee sigh. There was a pause. He could use more, but he also knew how long he’d been making Richard wait. 

“Yeah.” He told him, and Richard was instantly lined up against him. 

It took a couple of tries for him to breach Lee, who could feel him getting frustrated. 

“It’s alright, Rich.” Lee promised. “Take a deep breath.” 

“I should be saying that to you.” 

“Ok. We’ll do it together.” And as they did, Richard finally slid inside.

And promptly lost his bearings. There weren’t words for this. Just senses. If he had been forced to describe it, Richard would have said it felt like circles. Circles that smelled purple and tasted like summer nights. Which is exactly why words were never going to do justice to the experience that was fucking Lee Pace. 

He just stood there for a second, feeling the tight heat of Lee around him. Richard never wanted to be anywhere else, other than in the enveloping warmth of him. 

“You can move, if you want to.” Lee said. He’d opened up beautifully once Richard had finally calmed down. 

Richard wasn’t sure he wanted to, but his balls certainly wanted him to. So he took hold of both of Lee’s hips, and slowly started moving, sliding in then almost out, over and over again, never fully leaving Lee’s embrace. 

Lee noticed the escalating pace, even though Richard didn’t. Lee knew Richard was coming before he did, loving the rush and secretly wishing they weren’t wearing protection. 

Richard fell onto Lee’s back and he could feel the sweat from his brow. Like everything else Richard did to him, this felt amazing to Lee. 

They laid there for a moment, just taking in the whole experience they’d completed together. 

Richard eventually pulled out, and copied Lee in tossing the used condom somewhere in the vicinity of where he thought a rubbish bin might be. He flopped on the bed next to Lee, who turned towards him, put his hand on Richard’s neck, and pulled him in for a goodnight kiss. 

Richard stayed close to Lee, burying his nose in the crook of his neck. 

“I don’t want this night to end.” He admitted. 

“Me neither.” Lee said. 

 

******************************  
It took everything in the world for Richard to stop himself from asking Lee to not leave in the morning. He had taken too much of Lee’s time, and it wasn’t fair. 

Lee had important things to be doing. Richard had important things to be doing. Though, at the moment, neither of them could bloody well think of what those things were. 

They had breakfast, too quiet because they were both sour about having to leave, and a goodbye kiss that would have to hold them over for days- maybe even weeks- and Lee was off on another jaunt across the world.

This Jet Set life just didn’t suit him. He was miserable as he walked into work. It was closer to the airport than his place, and since it looked light out, he figured he was supposed to be there anyways. 

“What are you doing here so early?” Dinah asked as he walked in. He looked at the clock. 8 AM. 

“What are you?” 

“I have a conference call. Why are you here, Lee?”

“I think we should go to your office, Dinah.” 

“Why?” 

“Because we need to discuss the details of my promotion.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any Frenchies (*ahem*) are welcome to let me know if I've got the French line correct (It's supposed to say "Check, please." 
> 
> Can ya'll tell me if this seems like a weird ending? There's a sequel, but I'm really lazy, so I'm not sure if it's worth actually writing down. But I kinda feel like this is a weird place to end.

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to write a story that reflected my job, but this definitely morphed into something much different. For anyone who might be worried, disclaimer: 
> 
> Lee would (of course) never be as reckless or as alcoholic as me. I would never sleep with a major (or any other kind) of donor. 
> 
> The bad conditions described in Lee's workplace might be a bit exaggerated, the potty mouth and alcoholism is all me, and has been toned down.


End file.
